MONTGOMERY, Ala. (August 25, 2023) – A number of exciting storylines surround Saturday's football opener for the University of North Alabama, as the Lions will play on the national stage when it takes on nationally-ranked Mercer at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday inside the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala.
Saturday's game will air on ESPN, marking UNA's first time on the network's flagship channel since the 1995 Division II National Championship game in Florence. Saturday also marks the first regular season football game to air on ESPN in UNA history.
Lion fans can also tune into 98.3 FM or 103.5 FM in the Shoals or the WLX website or app worldwide to catch "Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray, Bryan Neece and former UNA quarterback Jacob Tucker on the UNA Lion Sports Network. The radio broadcast will also be available in the Huntsville area via ESPN's 97.7 The Zone. The pre-game show begins at 1 p.m.
For fans making the trip, general admission tickets remain available for as low as $20.
FCS KICKOFF GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game: North Alabama vs. No. 20 Mercer
Date: Saturday, August 26
Time: 2:30 – 2:35 p.m. CT
Location: Montgomery, Ala.
Stadium: Historic Cramton Bowl
TV: ESPN
Radio: WLX 98.3 / 103.5 FM or
ESPN 97.7 The Zone
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Click Here
Social Media:
@UNAFootball
UNA Game Notes |
Opponent Game Notes |
UAC Website
ABOUT THE LIONS
- UNA begins a new era as head coach Brent Dearmon will coach his first game for the Lions on Saturday. Dearmon has a 10-1 record as a head coach following a successful stint at his alma mater, Bethel, in 2018. He is just the 11th head coach in 75 years of UNA Football.
- The Lions begin their 75th season of football on Saturday with an all-time record of 480-298-16.
- This season will be the sixth for UNA since transitioning to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and the second as a full-fledged FCS member. UNA has an all-time record of 16-34 versus FCS opponents.
- UNA will also become the first program to play a football game as a member of the newly-formed United Athletic Conference. The Lions are charter members along with Abilene Christian, Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, EKU, Southern Utah, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton State, Utah Tech and UTRGV, who will be joining in 2025.
- The Lions are 42-28-4 in season openers all-time, while owning a 2-3 record since moving up to NCAA Division I. UNA's last season opening win came in 2019 over Western Illinois by a 26-17 final in Florence.
- This season, UNA returns 57 lettermen with 32 on offense, 22 on defense and three on special teams. The Lions added 54 newcomers to the mix this offseason.
- North Alabama remains the second-winningest program in the state of Alabama since 1990 with 253 wins in the last 33 years, ranking second only to the University of Alabama with 295 wins. The Lions boast 21 NCAA playoff appearances, 17 conference championships and three national championship victories.
- The Lions return 2022 leading passer Noah Walters, who enters his sophomore season after going 151-for-285 through the air for 2,149 yards and 19 touchdowns. He added 212 yards rushing for a pair of scores.
- Last year's second-leading rusher and receiver Demarcus Lacey returns to the offense as a dual threat player, totaling 596 all-purpose yards and eight touchdowns last season.
- Redshirt senior Takairee Kenebrew enters his sixth season with the UNA program and earned a spot on the inaugural UAC Preseason All-Conference Team after leading the Lions with 29 catches for 649 yards and eight touchdowns last season.
- All-conference offensive linemen Fau Tai'Vai and Stevie Young anchor an experienced starting offensive line that includes one senior, three juniors and a redshirt sophomore.
- Defensively, the Lions return four of the top eight tacklers from 2022, including Gallil Guillaume and Shaun Myers who combined for over 100 tackles. AJ Phillips totaled 46 tackles last season, while Phillip Ossai led the team last season with 7.5 tackles for loss. Kam'ron Green also returns after totaling 4.0 sacks and 5.5 TFLs last year.
- On special teams, the Lions return both the primary kicker and punter from last year in Sam Contorno and Thomas Dowis, respectively. Contorno went 6-7 on field goals last season with a long of 43 yards, while going a perfect 38-38 on PATs. Dowis had 12 of his 34 punts go inside the 20 with an average of 39.7 yards per punt.
ABOUT THE BEARS
- Mercer enters the 2023 season with a pair of FCS preseason rankings, landing at No. 20 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 while starting at No. 22 in the FCS Coaches Poll.
- The Bears finished 7-4 last season to rank third in the SoCon standings.
- Mercer returns 47 lettermen from last season, including 19 starters. This includes all but one returning starter on the defensive side of the ball.
- The 2021 SoCon Freshman of the Year Carter Peevy is the projected starter at quarterback for Mercer, who threw for over 1,300 yards in the Spring 2021 season.
- Among Mercer's returning players are nine all-conference honorees from last season, including four on the first team. Twelve Bears were on the preseason list this year with seven on the defensive side of the ball.
- Mercer is coached by Drew Cronic, who has a 19-13 record through three seasons in Macon. He owns a 66-19 career record in seven years as a head coach with most of his success coming at the NCAA Division II level with Lenior-Rhyne.
SERIES. HISTORY
- Saturday will mark the first all-time meeting between UNA and Mercer in football.
- The two schools have played five times in other sports, including women's basketball, softball, volleyball and beach volleyball. UNA won the most recent battle between the Lions and Bears with a 4-1 win in the sand at Macon on April 15, 2023. UNA also defeated Mercer in softball in 1986.
- Against the state of Georgia, UNA has an all-time record of 65-34-1 with winning records against Albany State, Fort Valley State, Gordon Military, Savannah State, Shorter, Valdosta State and West Georgia. The only Georgia school with a winning record against UNA is Kennesaw State (0-3).
- The Lions are 11-8-2 against Southern Conference opponents all-time, including a 6-4-2 record against Samford and a 5-1 record against East Tennessee State. Next week, UNA will seek its first win over Chattanooga as the Mocs own a 3-0 record in the series.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
