North Alabama Lions football

North Alabama Lions football
North Alabama Lions football
	2024 North Alabama Lions football team
First season	1912
Athletic director	Josh Looney
Head coach	Brent Dearmon ; 1st season, 3–8 (.273)
Stadium	Braly Municipal Stadium; (capacity: 14,215)
Field surface	ProGrass
Location	Florence, Alabama
NCAA division	Division I FCS
Conference	United Athletic Conference
Past conferences	Alabama Collegiate (1949–1969); Gulf South (1970–2017); FCS independent (2018); Big South (2019–2021); ASUN (2022);
All-time record	483–307–16 (.609)
Playoff appearances	21
Playoff record	35–18
Claimed national titles	3 (NCAA Division II: 1993, 1994, 1995)
Conference titles	17
Rivalries	West Alabama (rivalry)
Consensus All-Americans	63
Colors	Purple and gold;
Fight song	Go! Fight! U-N-A!
Mascot	Leo III (live) Leo and Una (traditional)
Marching band	Marching Pride of North Alabama
Outfitter	Adidas
Website	roarlions.com

The North Alabama Lions football program represents the University of North Alabama (UNA) in college football as the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as a member of the United Athletic Conference (UAC). The conference, which plays its first season in 2023, is a merger of the football leagues of UNA's primary home of the ASUN Conference and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).^[2]^[3]^[4] UNA had played the 2022 season in the ASUN, and before that had played football in the Big South Conference for three seasons.^[5] UNA plays its home games at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama. The team's head coach is Brent Dearmon. UNA was an NCAA Division II from member from 1972 to 2017.

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 No. 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 was the last Division II team to beat a Division I-A (FBS) team, defeating Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana) on October 11, 1997.^[6] In 2016, UNA won their fourth consecutive Gulf South Conference championship — a conference record.

^ "University of North Alabama Branding Guide" (PDF). February 1, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
^ "@ASUN_Football and WAC Release 2023 Schedule" (Press release). ASUN Conference. December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
^ "ASUN And WAC Unveil 2023 Football Schedule" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
^ "ASUN-WAC Football Partnership Formally Rebrands as the United Athletic Conference" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
^ "North Alabama to join Big South football in 2019". Stats FCS Football.
^ McKillop, Andrew (May 31, 2013). "History of FBS (I-A) vs. NCAA Division II/III & NAIA". FootballGeography. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2015.

[1] "University of North Alabama Branding Guide" (PDF). February 1, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.

[2] "@ASUN_Football and WAC Release 2023 Schedule" (Press release). ASUN Conference. December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.

[3] "ASUN And WAC Unveil 2023 Football Schedule" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.

[4] "ASUN-WAC Football Partnership Formally Rebrands as the United Athletic Conference" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023.

[5] "North Alabama to join Big South football in 2019". Stats FCS Football.

[6] McKillop, Andrew (May 31, 2013). "History of FBS (I-A) vs. NCAA Division II/III & NAIA". FootballGeography. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2015.

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