THE OFFICIAL ATHLETICS SITE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA LIONS

Dr. Roy Stevens was a respected and driving force in the development of the UNA athletic program, particularly as it rose to regional and national prominence in the 1980s.

He retired from UNA in 1990 after 40 years at the University. He received the UNA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004 and the school's Education/Nursing building bears his name as “Roy S. Stevens Hall.”

He came to the university in 1950 as an assistant professor of business. He later became a full professor and a department head. In 1964 he was named treasurer and business manager and in 1984 was appointed executive vice president. He served as a member of the university’s Athletic Committee from 1951-71 and also served as UNA’s Faculty Athletic Representative from the mid-1960s into the 1970s. He served as President of the Alabama Collegiate Conference in 1961 and later served as Chair of the Gulf South Conference Committee on Women’s Athletics  (1981-82) when women’s sports first became a part of the GSC and NCAA.

He received the “Distinguished Leader of the Year for Four-Year Alabama Colleges” in 1988. He received the “Centennial Award for Excellence in Teaching” in 1974 from his alma mater Eastern Kentucky University and was selected “Faculty Member of the Year” at UNA in 1964. 

He also served on the board of several local civic and professional organizations, including the Shoals Industrial Development Authority, the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce and the Florence Planning Commission.