 The
UNA Lion
The
University of North Alabama saw the arrival of another Lion on its campus just prior to
the 1994 football season, but this one weighed a full ton more than UNA's live lion
mascot, Leo. This Lion, a 2,700 pound concrete statue, was presented to the
university by the UNA Sportsman's Club in honor of the school's three national
championship teams (1979 & 1991 in basketball and 1993 in football). But no
sooner than the statue went up, the Lions won a fourth title with the 1994 Division II
football championship. A fifth crown was added in 1995. The Lion was
purchased from the Ornamental Concrete Company in Mississippi and came from a die created
in Germany. The Lion is four feet high, two feet wide, and seven feet long and
stands on a 3' x 8' base. A plaque adorns the side of the monument in honor of UNA's
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, and list the year and team records for each of the Lion's national
championship teams. With the Lions three national championships in football and two
in basketball, the school is the only one in the history of the NCAA competition on any
level to have won two championships in both football and basketball. The Lion stands
beside Pine Street, directly in front of Flowers Hall. The Lion has been the official
mascot of all UNA teams since the school began athletic competition in the 1930's.
The school has had costume mascot for decades, and has been the only school in the
country to have a live lion mascot living on campus since 1974. |
