THE OFFICIAL ATHLETICS SITE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA LIONS

Otis Boddie led the University of North Alabama to the NCAA Division II National Championship in basketball in  1979 and was one of the top performers ever on the Division II  level. In four years with the Lions, from 1977-80, Boddie helped lead UNA to an 84-35 record that included three trips to the Division II Final Four. A native of Florence, Boddie was named first-team All-American in 1980 after being an Honorable Mention All-American pick in 1979. He was a three-time All-Gulf South Conference selection and was the GSC Player of the Year in 1980.

Boddie closed his career as the Lion's all-time leading scorer with 1,963 points and an average of 16.8 points per game. He led UNA in scoring four straight years and set four GSC and five UNA marks during his career. He scored 485 points in 1977, 382 in 1978, 597 in 1979 and 499 in 1980. Those totals helped UNA  to records of 24-7, 17-9, 22-9 and 21-10. Boddie scored a career-high 38 points against Nicholls State in the 1979 NCAA Quarterfinals and scored 30 or more points in a single game eight times during his career. After helping take UNA to the 1979 National Championship with a 64-50 win over Wisconsin-Green Bay, Boddie  was injured in 1980 as UNA approached the national tournaments.

He came off the bench to score 31 points in a come-from-behind win over Central Missouri State in the South Central Region final and helped the Lions back to the Final Four. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association.