North Alabama will have a new home by the 2026 season. The school broke ground on a new stadium that will be called Bank Independent Stadium with construction to begin immediately. UNA has an estimated cost of $65 million to build the stadium with $25 million coming via fundraising and another $35 million borrowed by the UNA Board of Trustees. The new stadium will have a capacity of 10,000 and will include a new weight room.
The Lions currently play at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, which opened in 1949 and seats 14,215 fans. North Alabama won 28 straight home games at Braly Municipal Stadium from September 1993 through September 1996, which coincided with the program’s three straight NCAA Division II National Championships. UNA went 26-8 at Braly Stadium in the D-II Playoffs while they were 35-18 overall in 21 D-II playoff appearances between 1980 and 2016.
North Alabama joined the FCS in 2018 playing an FCS independent schedule followed by three seasons in the Big South Conference. In 2022, the Atlantic Sun began sponsoring football followed by the merger of the ASUN and WAC football programs into the United Athletic Conference. The Lions went 3-8 in 2023 in the UAC’s inaugural season and will begin the 2024 season against Southeast Missouri State on Saturday, August 24 in week zero. The first home game will be against Illinois State on Saturday, September 7.
Photo Credit to the University of North Alabama Athletics
