Hall of Fame
Mike Lane spent 25 years as head baseball coach at the University of North Alabama and transformed the program into one of the nation’s most consistent winners. Lane came to UNA in 1983 and took over a baseball program that had produced only one winning season in the six years prior to his arrival.
In his 25 years at UNA, Lane had 25 straight winning seasons, won 908 games, averaged 36 wins per season, won 40 games or more six times, won five Gulf South Conference championships and took the Lions to ten NCAA regionals and one World Series. He ranks among the winningest coaches in Division II history in both wins and winning percentage. In all he led UNA to 10 Gulf South Conference division titles and to GSC Tournament titles in 1984, 1989, 1993, 1997 and 1999. In 1999, UNA went all the way to its first Division II Baseball World Series in Montgomery after the Lions won the GSC and Division II South Central Regional championships. UNA finished fifth in the nation with a 45-12 overall record.
The Lions had a remarkable 571-156-4 record at home in Lane’s 25 years at the school, with a record 32 home wins in 1999.
Under Lane, numerous Lion baseball players went on to play professional baseball, including Cedric Landrum who debuted in the major leagues with the Chicago Cubs and played in 1993 with the New York Mets, Jim Czajkowski, who reached the majors with Colorado Rockies is in 1994, Terry Jones, who debuted with the Rockies in 1996 and also played with the Expos and Dodgers, and Josh Willingham who made his major league debut with the Florida Marlins in 2004 and earned a starting position in 2006. Lane was also responsible for the continued improvements to University Field and was honored with a fund-raising roast in 2007 that raised the money for the stadium’s renovation. The stadium was then renamed in his honor as Mike D. Lane Field during the 2008 season.
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