1912 - PRESENT

THE EARLY YEARS

The first recorded score of a Lion football game wasn't pretty at all, and similar results over a 16-year period from 1912 to 1928 resulted in the school dropping the sport for 21 years. In 1912, Florence State Normal School, as UNA was then known, played only one football game and lost 101-0 to Sewanee. The Lions continued to play for 16 more seasons before dropping the sport in 1928 after losing twice to Marion Institute, 86-0 and 85-0.

REBIRTH

On March 30, 1949, Florence State Teachers College President Dr. E.B. Norton called a student assembly to announce that football would be renewed and that the Lions would jump headlong into collegiate competition that fall under the direction of Hal Self.  The Lions played their first game of the modern era against Jacksonville State on the road in Jacksonville on September 29, 1949, losing 12-7.  On October 8, 1949, the Lions rebounded for their first win with a 28-7 win in Florence over Howard College (now Samford). UNA finished that first season with a 4-5 record and followed with the school's first winning season in 1950 with a 5-4 mark.  During Self's 21 seasons as head coach, the Lions enjoyed great success, compiling a 109-81-8 record against rugged schedules that included numerous Division I schools. From 1952-64 the Lions went 31-0-2 against schools from the state of Alabama, 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's tenure at UNA produced several Alabama Collegiate Conference championships, as well as eight All-Americans, including the school's first professional football star in end Harlon Hill.  Former Lion player and assistant coach Durell Mock was hired as the school's second head football coach in 1970 and was followed by Mickey Andrews in 1973 and Wayne Grubb in 1977.

GRUBB BRINGS SUCCESS

After a 5-5 season in 1977, Grubb brought winning ways back to UNA football with eight straight winning seasons. Included in that run were Gulf South Conference championships in 1980, 1983 and 1985 and trips to the NCAA Division II National Playoffs those three years. UNA advanced to the national semifinals in 1980 and 1983 and reached the Division II Championship Game at the Palm Bowl in McAllen, Texas in 1985.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME MOVES TO FLORENCE

Following UNA's appearance in the 1985 Championship Game, the Shoals area put in its own bid to host the Division II Football Championship and has hosted the game, with UNA as the host institution, ever since. The move of the game to Florence also sparked the creation of the Harlon Hill Trophy, which has been presented annually since 1986 to the Division II College Football Player of the Year.  The Wayne Grubb era of UNA football ended in 1987, but Grubb completed his 11-year stint at UNA with an 84-33-6 record.

THE BOBBY WALLACE ERA

The fifth head football coach in UNA history was Bobby Wallace, who helped take the Lion program to the next level of success, with three NCAA Division II National Championships in his 10 years at the school.  Although Wallace steadily rebuilt the UNA program from 1988-91, the program prepared for a major leap in 1992. Prior to the 1992 season the Lions switched to a new triple-option offense, under the direction of new offensive coordinator Willie Slater, and was also able to bring back former defensive coordinator Bill Hyde.  That 1992 team went 7-4-1 and advanced to the second round of the Division II playoffs before losing to the eventual national champion.  Over the next three years, UNA went a combined 41-1, winning three straight Gulf South Conference championships and three straight NCAA Division II National Championships. Those marks made UNA the first collegiate football team on any level to win as many as 40 games in just three seasons, and the Lions three straight national titles made UNA the first school in the history of NCAA scholarship football to win three straight national titles.  The only loss UNA suffered during that three-year span was a 17-14 loss at defending I-AA National Champion Youngstown State on a field goal in the fourth quarter. Youngstown State went on to win the I-AA national title in 1994 as well.  In Wallace's 10 years at UNA, the Lions made six NCAA playoff appearances and had a combined 82-36-1 record.  In 1997, as part of the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the NCAA Division II Football Championship, several awards were presented honoring the best Division II had to offer during that first 25-year span. The 1995 Lions were selected as the "Best Team of the Quarter Century" in Division II, going 14-0 and capping a remarkable three-year championship span. In addition, Wallace was named "Coach of the Quarter Century" for his part in helping take UNA to such lofty heights.  UNA linebacker Ronald McKinnon also made history in 1995, becoming the first, and so far the only defensive player to win the Harlon Hill Trophy as Division II Player of the Year.  The Lions were invited to the White House following the 1995 season to meet with President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and members of the Congress.  Bill Hyde was hired as the sixth head football coach in UNA history in 1998, as the Lions entered their 50th season of football. The season was marked by the selection of a 50th Anniversary Lion Football Team that included the all-time greats in UNA history.

Bill Hyde Takes Over

Hyde served as head football coach for the Lions from 1998-2001, but spent more than 21 years at UNA, including 17 years as the school's defensive coordinator.  Hyde helped lead UNA to an 8-2 record in his first year as a collegiate head coach in 1998, followed by a 5-6 mark  in 1999, a 3-7 record in 2000, and a 4-7 record in 2001.

Mark Hudspeth