The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I for most sports; in football, it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly referred to as Division I-AA.
Cramton Bowl is a 25,000-seat stadium located in Montgomery, Alabama. Cramton Bowl opened in 1922 as a baseball stadium and has been home to Major League Baseball spring training and to minor league baseball. Today, however, its primary use is for American football.
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). UNA had played the 2022 season in the ASUN, and before that had played football in the Big South Conference for three seasons. 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 South Alabama Jaguars football program, established in 2009, represents the University of South Alabama in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. South Alabama joined the FBS in 2012 as a member of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC).
The North Alabama Lions are the athletic teams of the University of North Alabama, located in Florence, Alabama. The Lions are a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and compete within the ASUN Conference for all sports except football, in which they play in the United Athletic Conference. The university has a total of 14 varsity sports teams, six men's teams and eight women's teams. The fall of 2018 marked the Lions first year of their transition into Division I. They have a storied tradition in Division II and have earned numerous national titles competing in NCAA Division II's Gulf South Conference.
The Jacksonville State Gamecocks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Jacksonville State University (JSU) located in the U.S. state of Alabama. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Conference USA. Jacksonville State's first football team was fielded in 1904. The team plays its home games at the 24,000-seat Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium in Jacksonville, Alabama.
The FCS Kickoff is an annual college football game played on the Saturday before the opening weekend of the college football season. The game showcases teams from the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). For the game's first three editions, it was played at campus sites; since 2017, the game has been played at a neutral site, the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama. The game is televised nationally by ESPN, and for sponsorship reasons is officially the Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff.
The 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was played on January 7, 2017, in Frisco, Texas. The James Madison Dukes defeated the Youngstown State Penguins, 28–14, to capture their second national championship in team history.
The North Alabama–West Alabama football rivalry is a college football rivalry game between two public universities in the U.S. state of Alabama, the University of North Alabama Lions and the University of West Alabama Tigers. The current winner is West Alabama, who won 38–17, on September 23, 2017. North Alabama leads the all-time series, 52–18–1.
The 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The FCS Championship Game was played on January 6, 2018, in Frisco, Texas. The North Dakota State Bison beat the James Madison Dukes, 17–13, to capture their sixth title in seven years.
The 2017 North Alabama Lions football team represented the University of North Alabama during the 2017 NCAA Division II football season. They were led by first-yer head coach Chris Willis. The Lions played their home games at Braly Municipal Stadium and were members of the Gulf South Conference. They finished the season 5–5, 5–3 in GSC play to finish in a five-way tie for second place.
The 2018 Arkansas–Pine Bluff Golden Lions football team represents the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Golden Lions are led by first-year head coach Cedric Thomas and play their home games at Golden Lion Stadium in Pine Bluff, Arkansas as members of the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
The 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The FCS Championship Game was played on January 11, 2020, in Frisco, Texas. North Dakota State entered the season as the defending champion, and after completing the regular season undefeated, successfully defended their title and secured their eighth championship in nine seasons.
The 2019 North Alabama Lions football team represented the University of North Alabama during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Chris Willis. The Lions played their home games at Braly Municipal Stadium as a first-year member of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 4–7, 3–4 in Big South play, however due to their transition to NCAA Division I, their official conference record is 0–0.
The 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level.
The 2020 North Alabama Lions football team represented the University of North Alabama during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Chris Willis. The Lions played their home games at Braly Municipal Stadium as second-year members of the Big South Conference.
The 2021 North Alabama Lions football team represented the University of North Alabama during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Lions played their home games at the Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama. The team was coached by fifth-year head coach Chris Willis.
The 2021 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team represented Southeastern Louisiana University as a member of the Southland Conference during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Lions were led by fourth-year head coach Frank Scelfo and played their home games at Strawberry Stadium.
The 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, is organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The regular season began on August 27 and ended on November 19. The postseason began on November 26, and, aside from any all-star games that are scheduled, ended on January 8, 2023, with the 2023 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
The 2022 North Alabama Lions football team represented the University of North Alabama during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Lions played their home games at the Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama. The team was coached by sixth-year head coach Chris Willis.
