North Alabama Lions football
Encyclopedia
The North Alabama Lions football
team represents the University of North Alabama
in the NCAA Division II competing as a member of the East Division of the Gulf South Conference
(GSC). UNA plays its home games at Braly Municipal Stadium
in Florence
, Alabama
. They are coached by new head coach Terry Bowden
after Mark Hudspeth left after the 2008 season to take the job as passing coordinator at Mississippi State
.
The Lions are distinguished as the only team to win three consecutive football national championships in NCAA Division II. UNA's 27 consecutive weeks at #1 in the Division II polls also comprise the longest stretch of consecutive No. 1 rankings in football in NCAA history on any level. UNA became one of only nine DII schools to beat a Division I-A (FBS) team (since the NCAA's restructuring in 1972) when they beat Southwestern Louisiana on October 11, 1997. The Lions won 48-42 after going to 4 OT's.
The program was not resumed until 1949, when President E.B. Norton announced that Florence State Teachers College, as the institution was then known, once again would field a team. At the first pep rally for the new team, Dr. Norton told the student body that the school had not lost a football game in 20 years and did not want to start losing then. Nevertheless, the first game, played Sept. 29, 1949 against Jacksonville State, resulted in a 12-7 loss. Florence State rebounded in the next game with a 28-7 win over Howard College (now Samford University
).
Dr. Norton told the Flor-Ala student newspaper on January 5, 1949 that a football team was important not only for school spirit but also because a teachers college should have facilities to train coaches for the public schools. In an interview with the Florence Times-Daily in 1994, Dr. Norton recounted the football team's role at a critical juncture in the college's history. Wendell Wilkie Gunn, the first African American graduate of Florence State, registered in 1964. In the wake of the protests and violence that attended integration at other southern colleges and universities, Dr. Norton called the football team together and said he expected a peaceful and welcoming atmosphere on the Florence State campus. He charged the football players to set the appropriate example as leaders of the student body. Mr. Gunn matriculated and graduated in four years without incident. Dr. Norton stated that the football team's contribution to the successful integration of the institution justified his original vision of the program, in a way he could not have foreseen in 1949, and exceeded even the program's considerable achievements on the field (which by the 1990s included several national titles).
The Lions also have won numerous Gulf South Conference Championships since the 1980s.
The Lions were especially dominant among other Alabama teams, building a 31-0-2 record, beginning with a 32-6 win over Livingston (now West Alabama
) in 1952 and ending 12 years later with a 21-7 loss to Troy State
in 1964. Self also amassed several Alabama Collegiate Conference championships and coached eight All-Americans, including Harlon Hill
, the school’s first professional football star.
Former Lion standout Durell Mock succeeded Self in 1970, followed by Mickey Andrews in 1973.
championships in 1980, 1983 and 1985. UNA also qualified for the national semifinals in 1980 and 1983, competing for the Division II Championship at Palm Bowl in McAllen, Texas
, in 1985.
In 1985, Florence's Braly Municipal Stadium
also was secured as the site of the Division II national championship game, with UNA serving as the host institution ever since. The Division II move to Florence also led to the adoption of the Harlon Hill Trophy
, named after one of the most successful athletes in UNA’s history.
The most successful era in UNA football history followed the hiring of Bobby Wallace
as head football coach. Following a four-year rebuilding period, Wallace led the Lions to a 7-4-1 record in 1992 and competed in the second round of the Division II championship until a loss to the team that ended up that year’s Division II national champions.
Over the next three years, UNA amassed a 41-1 record, which also encompassed three state Gulf South Conference Championships and three consecutive NCAA Division II National Championships — the first three-peat in NCAA history.
The only loss UNA suffered during this 3-year period was to Youngstown State
, a Division I-AA power at the time, losing narrowly, 17-14, following a field goal in the fourth quarter. Youngstown State went on to win the 1994 I-AA national championship.
During Wallace’s 10-year tenure, the UNA Lions competed in six NCAA playoffs and compiled an 82-36-1 record.
In 1995, UNA Lions were selected the “Best Team of the Quarter Century” in Division II, while Wallace was named Division II‘s “Coach of the Quarter Century.”
Following their third consecutive Division II National Championship, the Lions were invited to the White House
to meet President Bill Clinton
, Vice President Al Gore
and members of Congress.
Following a 3-year interlude under Bill Hyde, Mark Hudspeth assumed the head coaching job at UNA. After a disappointing first year, Hudspeth has led Lions to another string of Division II playoff games.
In his first five seasons at UNA, Hudspeth has posted the best record of any previous Lion head coach in their first five years - leading the Lions to a 44-17 mark, two Gulf South Conference titles and three NCAA Division II playoff appearances. Hudspeth left UNA after the 2008 season to become an assistant under newly-hired Mississippi State Coach Dan Mullen.
head coach Terry Bowden
was named the new head coach of UNA on January 1, 2009. Bowden's brother Jeff also joins Terry at UNA as the WR coach. Pre-season hype focused on Bowden's remedy to a re-building roster by acquiring over twenty-five transfers from Division I schools including several from his father's Florida State team. The 2009 campaign would climax late in the season with an undefeated 10-0 record and the school's return to the #1 ranking for the first time since 1996. The season wrapped up with a UNA loss in the regional finals with a record of 11-2.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team represents the University of North Alabama
University of North Alabama
The University of North Alabama is a coeducational university located in Florence, Alabama, and the state's oldest four-year public university....
in the NCAA Division II competing as a member of the East Division of the Gulf South Conference
Gulf South Conference
The Gulf South Conference is a College Athletic Conference which operates in the southeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division II.-History:...
(GSC). UNA plays its home games at Braly Municipal Stadium
Braly Municipal Stadium
Tom Braly Municipal Stadium is a stadium in Florence, Alabama. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the University of North Alabama Lions and the Florence High School Falcons...
in Florence
Florence, Alabama
Florence is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the northwestern corner of the state.According to the 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the city's population was 36,721....
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. They are coached by new head coach Terry Bowden
Terry Bowden
Terry Bowden is an American football coach at the University of North Alabama. Bowden was previously the head coach at Salem University , Samford University , and Auburn University . Bowden is the son of former Florida State University head football coach Bobby Bowden...
after Mark Hudspeth left after the 2008 season to take the job as passing coordinator at Mississippi State
Mississippi State Bulldogs football
The Mississippi State Bulldogs football program represents Mississippi State University in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, competing as a member of the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference. Mississippi State has produced 38 All-Americans, 171 All-SEC selections, and 124...
.
The Lions are distinguished as the only team to win three consecutive football national championships in NCAA Division II. UNA's 27 consecutive weeks at #1 in the Division II polls also comprise the longest stretch of consecutive No. 1 rankings in football in NCAA history on any level. UNA became one of only nine DII schools to beat a Division I-A (FBS) team (since the NCAA's restructuring in 1972) when they beat Southwestern Louisiana on October 11, 1997. The Lions won 48-42 after going to 4 OT's.
History
Based on a history compiled by RoarLions.com, the university’s official athletic Web site, football had an especially inauspicious beginning at the University of North Alabama. The institution’s first football game in 1912 ended with Florence State Normal School losing to Sewanee 100-1. The institution carried on with a football program for 16 years despite similar poor results, finally terminating the program in 1928 after losing twice to Marion Institute, 86-0 and 85-0.The program was not resumed until 1949, when President E.B. Norton announced that Florence State Teachers College, as the institution was then known, once again would field a team. At the first pep rally for the new team, Dr. Norton told the student body that the school had not lost a football game in 20 years and did not want to start losing then. Nevertheless, the first game, played Sept. 29, 1949 against Jacksonville State, resulted in a 12-7 loss. Florence State rebounded in the next game with a 28-7 win over Howard College (now Samford University
Samford University
Samford University, founded as Howard College is a private, coeducational, Alabama Baptist Convention-affiliated university located in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It includes the , Cumberland School of Law, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Brock School of Business, Ida V....
).
Dr. Norton told the Flor-Ala student newspaper on January 5, 1949 that a football team was important not only for school spirit but also because a teachers college should have facilities to train coaches for the public schools. In an interview with the Florence Times-Daily in 1994, Dr. Norton recounted the football team's role at a critical juncture in the college's history. Wendell Wilkie Gunn, the first African American graduate of Florence State, registered in 1964. In the wake of the protests and violence that attended integration at other southern colleges and universities, Dr. Norton called the football team together and said he expected a peaceful and welcoming atmosphere on the Florence State campus. He charged the football players to set the appropriate example as leaders of the student body. Mr. Gunn matriculated and graduated in four years without incident. Dr. Norton stated that the football team's contribution to the successful integration of the institution justified his original vision of the program, in a way he could not have foreseen in 1949, and exceeded even the program's considerable achievements on the field (which by the 1990s included several national titles).
The Lions also have won numerous Gulf South Conference Championships since the 1980s.
Hal Self
Under the direction of Head Coach Hal Self, the college completed the year with a 4-5 record, turning in a slightly improved 5-4 record the following year. However, during Self's 21 seasons as head coach, the Lions compiled a 109-81-8 record, posting wins against even some Division I schools.The Lions were especially dominant among other Alabama teams, building a 31-0-2 record, beginning with a 32-6 win over Livingston (now West Alabama
University of West Alabama
The University of West Alabama is a public university located in Livingston, Alabama, United States. It is currently on probation with its regional accrediting body....
) in 1952 and ending 12 years later with a 21-7 loss to Troy State
Troy University
Troy University is a public university that is located in Troy, Alabama, United States. It was originally founded in 1887 as Troy Normal School. Its main campus enrollment is 7,194 students. The total enrollment of all Troy University campuses is 29,689...
in 1964. Self also amassed several Alabama Collegiate Conference championships and coached eight All-Americans, including Harlon Hill
Harlon Hill
Harlon Junius Hill was a standout player at Lauderdale County High School and later as an offensive end at Florence State Teachers College, now known as the University of North Alabama, being named an NAIA All-American in his senior year...
, the school’s first professional football star.
Former Lion standout Durell Mock succeeded Self in 1970, followed by Mickey Andrews in 1973.
Wayne Grubb
Wayne Grubb took over for Andrews in 1977. Grubb followed a disappointing 5-5 beginning season with 8 consecutive winning seasons, including Gulf South ConferenceGulf South Conference
The Gulf South Conference is a College Athletic Conference which operates in the southeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division II.-History:...
championships in 1980, 1983 and 1985. UNA also qualified for the national semifinals in 1980 and 1983, competing for the Division II Championship at Palm Bowl in McAllen, Texas
McAllen, Texas
McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. It is located at the southern tip of Texas in an area known as the Rio Grande Valley and is part of the . Its southern boundary is located about five miles from the U.S.–Mexico border and the Mexican city of Reynosa, the Rio...
, in 1985.
In 1985, Florence's Braly Municipal Stadium
Braly Municipal Stadium
Tom Braly Municipal Stadium is a stadium in Florence, Alabama. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the University of North Alabama Lions and the Florence High School Falcons...
also was secured as the site of the Division II national championship game, with UNA serving as the host institution ever since. The Division II move to Florence also led to the adoption of the Harlon Hill Trophy
Harlon Hill Trophy
The Harlon Hill Trophy is an award in American college football given to the individual selected as the most valuable player in NCAA Division II. The award is named for former University of North Alabama and National Football League player Harlon Hill...
, named after one of the most successful athletes in UNA’s history.
Bobby Wallace
Bobby Wallace (football coach)
Bobby Wallace is a former college football coach. During his time as a head coach he served at North Alabama, Temple and West Alabama...
as head football coach. Following a four-year rebuilding period, Wallace led the Lions to a 7-4-1 record in 1992 and competed in the second round of the Division II championship until a loss to the team that ended up that year’s Division II national champions.
Over the next three years, UNA amassed a 41-1 record, which also encompassed three state Gulf South Conference Championships and three consecutive NCAA Division II National Championships — the first three-peat in NCAA history.
The only loss UNA suffered during this 3-year period was to Youngstown State
Youngstown State University
Youngstown State University, founded in 1908, is an urban research university located in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. As of fall 2010, there were 15,194 students and a student-faculty ratio of 19:1. It is recognized as being one of the premier schools in the country, comparable to Ivy League...
, a Division I-AA power at the time, losing narrowly, 17-14, following a field goal in the fourth quarter. Youngstown State went on to win the 1994 I-AA national championship.
During Wallace’s 10-year tenure, the UNA Lions competed in six NCAA playoffs and compiled an 82-36-1 record.
In 1995, UNA Lions were selected the “Best Team of the Quarter Century” in Division II, while Wallace was named Division II‘s “Coach of the Quarter Century.”
Following their third consecutive Division II National Championship, the Lions were invited to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
to meet President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, Vice President Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
and members of Congress.
Mark Hudspeth
In his first five seasons at UNA, Hudspeth has posted the best record of any previous Lion head coach in their first five years - leading the Lions to a 44-17 mark, two Gulf South Conference titles and three NCAA Division II playoff appearances. Hudspeth left UNA after the 2008 season to become an assistant under newly-hired Mississippi State Coach Dan Mullen.
Terry Bowden
Former AuburnAuburn Tigers football
Only Mohamed Amin Abughadir set the record with 1,890 yards in 1 season. He was the QB for Auburn in 1998.The Auburn Tigers football team represents Auburn University in college football as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, competing in the Western Division of the...
head coach Terry Bowden
Terry Bowden
Terry Bowden is an American football coach at the University of North Alabama. Bowden was previously the head coach at Salem University , Samford University , and Auburn University . Bowden is the son of former Florida State University head football coach Bobby Bowden...
was named the new head coach of UNA on January 1, 2009. Bowden's brother Jeff also joins Terry at UNA as the WR coach. Pre-season hype focused on Bowden's remedy to a re-building roster by acquiring over twenty-five transfers from Division I schools including several from his father's Florida State team. The 2009 campaign would climax late in the season with an undefeated 10-0 record and the school's return to the #1 ranking for the first time since 1996. The season wrapped up with a UNA loss in the regional finals with a record of 11-2.