The University of North Alabama (UNA) is a public university in Florence, Alabama. It is the state's oldest public university. Occupying a 130-acre (0.5 km2) campus in a residential section of Florence, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Tuscumbia, Sheffield and Muscle Shoals. The four cities compose a metropolitan area with a combined population of 140,000 people.
The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Division I FCS level in 2022. Originally established as the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) in 1978, it was renamed as the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2001, and briefly rebranded as the ASUN Conference from 2016 to 2023. The conference still uses "ASUN" as an official abbreviation. The conference headquarters are located in Jacksonville. On May 8, 2024, the conference announced it would move its headquarters from Atlanta, Georgia to Jacksonville, Florida in the fall of 2024.
NCAA Division I independent schools are four-year institutions that compete in college athletics at the NCAA Division I level, but do not belong to an established athletic conference for a particular sport. These schools may however still compete as members of an athletic conference in other sports. A school may also be fully independent, and not belong to any athletic conference for any sport at all. The reason for independent status varies among institutions, but it is frequently because the school's primary athletic conference does not sponsor a particular sport.
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 played 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 member from 1972 to 2017.
The North Alabama Lions men's basketball team represents University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama, United States. The school's team currently competes in the ASUN Conference. On July 1, 2018, they joined the Atlantic Sun Conference. Since joining NCAA Division I, the Lions have not yet appeared in the NCAA Tournament. At the NCAA Division II level, North Alabama won the 1979 and 1991 national championship.
The Stetson Hatters baseball team represents Stetson University, which is located in DeLand, Florida. The Hatters are an NCAA Division I college baseball program that competes in the ASUN Conference. They began competing in Division I in 1972 and joined the ASUN Conference in 1986.
The Liberty Flames and Lady Flames are the athletics teams of Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. They are a member of the NCAA Division I level in 20 sports. As of July 1, 2023, LU is a member of Conference USA (CUSA) for most sports, joining that league after five years as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN).
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, which plays 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 Lion's 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 Kennesaw State Owls baseball team represents Kennesaw State University, which is located in Kennesaw, Georgia. The Owls are an NCAA Division I college baseball program that competes in Conference USA. They began competing in Division I in 2006, joining Conference USA in 2024.
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 North Alabama Lions women's basketball team represents University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Gulf South Conference. In 2018, they joined the ASUN Conference in all sports, including women's basketball.
The 2018–19 North Alabama Lions women's basketball team represented University of North Alabama during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. They were led by head coach Missy Tiber in her sixth season at North Alabama. The Lions played their home games at the Flowers Hall in Florence, Alabama as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
The 2019–20 North Alabama Lions men's basketball team represented the University of North Alabama in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lions, led by second-year head coach Tony Pujol, played their home games at Flowers Hall in Florence, Alabama as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN). They finished the season 13–17, 8–8 in ASUN play, to finish in fifth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the ASUN tournament to Stetson.
Mike D. Lane Field was a baseball venue in Florence, Alabama, United States. It was home to the North Alabama Lions baseball team of the NCAA Division I ASUN Conference. The facility had a capacity of 1,500 spectators and is named for former head coach Mike D. Lane who has the most wins in North Alabama history.
The 2020–21 North Alabama Lions women's basketball team represented University of North Alabama during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. They were led by head coach Missy Tiber in her eighth season at North Alabama. The Lions played their home games at the Flowers Hall in Florence, Alabama as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
The 2021–22 North Alabama Lions women's basketball team represented University of North Alabama during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. They were led by ninth-year head coach Missy Tiber. The Lions played their home games at the Flowers Hall in Florence, Alabama as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN).
Bank Independent Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium complex by the University of North Alabama that is being construced in Florence, Alabama to replace Braly Stadium and Mike D. Lane Field for athletic events by the 2026-2027 academic year. It will consist of a separate football and baseball field.
The 2024 North Alabama Lions baseball team represented the University of North Alabama during the 2024 NCAA Division I baseball season. They were led by head coach Jad Prachniak, in his 2nd season at UNA. The Lions played their home games at Mike D. Lane Field as a members of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
The North Alabama Lions softball team represents the University of North Alabama in NCAA Division I College softball. The team competes in the Atlantic Sun Conference, and plays its home games at Hilda B. Anderson Softball Stadium in Florence, Alabama. The Lions are currently led by head coach Ashley Cozart.
The 2024–25 North Alabama Lions women's basketball team represent the University of North Alabama during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lions, led by first-year head coach Candi Whitaker, play their home games at the CB&S Bank Arena located in Florence, Alabama, as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN).
2024 North Alabama Lions baseball team 