PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Former University of North Alabama head football coach Bobby Wallace has been inducted into the Gulf South Conference Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2017.

The Gulf South Conference, now in its 48th year, inducted Wallace along with Amy Carroll-Denley of Delta State, Radovan Chrz of West Florida, Fred McAfee of Mississippi College and Stephanie Pinto of Alabama Huntsville.

There were 10 inductees in the initial class in 2014 that included former UNA football standout Ronald McKinnon and former UNA basketball coach and athletic director, the late Bill Jones.

The class of 2015 included former UNA volleyball standouts Rachel Price Bell and Ronda Price Brinley, who were All-American and Academic All-America® honorees while at UNA from 1996-99.

North Alabama was again represented with two inductees in 2016 with former head baseball coach Mike Lane and former quarterback Cody Gross included in the third induction class.

With the addition of Wallace, North Alabama will have seven of the first 25 inductees into the GSC Hall of Fame.

Wallace retired from his position at UNA in December after leading the Lions to an 11-2 season that included a spot in the NCAA Division II National Championship Game.

The winningest coach in UNA (126) and Gulf South Conference (152) history, Wallace spent 40 total years in college football coaching after taking his initial position as a graduate assistant at his alma mater Mississippi State in 1976. He has won 171 total games in 28 seasons as a collegiate head coach and has already been inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame (2004), the Division II Football Hall of Fame (2010) and the University of North Alabama Athletic Hall of Fame (2011).

Wallace's list of coaching awards includes being named Division II Coach of the Quarter Century (1972-97), Gulf South Conference Coach of the Quarter Century (1971-95), AFCA Division II National Coach of the Year three times (1993, 1994, 1995) and Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year four times (1993, 1994, 1995, 2016).

Wallace's three NCAA Division II National Championships at UNA in 1993, 1994 and 1995 tie him for the most championships by any coach in the division's 39-year history. Those 1993-95 teams also had a combined 41-1 record, making Wallace the first coach in collegiate football history to win as many as 40 games in just three seasons.The three straight national titles also made UNA the first school in the history of NCAA scholarship football to win three straight national titles.

With 10 playoff appearances in 15 years at UNA, Wallace is also the only coach in Gulf South Conference history to win seven GSC football  championships. His 20 total Division II post-season playoff wins are the second most in DII history.


Bobby and Sharon Wallace


Megan Lovelace, Sharon Wallace, Bobby Wallace and Debbie Williams


GSC Commissioner Matt Wilson, Bobby Wallace and Jeff Hodges


Stephanie Pinto (UAH), Fred McAfee (MC), Amy Carroll-Denley (DSU), Bobby Wallace (UNA) and West Florida tennis coach Derrick Racine representing Radovan Chrz.


UNA Athletic Staff members with Bobby Wallace at the Hall of Fame ceremony