FLORENCE, Ala. (August 11, 2023) – Friday was no ordinary practice for the University of North Alabama football team, as the Lions welcomed a special guest to campus.
 
Former UNA head football coach and three-time national champion Bobby Wallace spectated drills, toured the updated facilities and addressed the current team Friday morning after practice.
 
"Being on the practice field — which I haven't done in seven years — is great," said Wallace. "I really enjoy being here and realize the things I do miss. I don't think I could do it again, but I do miss coaching a lot. A lot of people have reached out to me to get back involved in the program — and I have from a distance. Everyone has been very kind, and I'm just thrilled to be here."
 
Wallace was also in attendance for Thursday night's Lion Pride Dinner & Auction event at Marriott Shoals Conference Center featuring special guest Archie Manning. The two football greats interacted at the event.
 
Coach Wallace is one of the many UNA legends that have been invited back during fall camp, joining of his former players Cody Gross and Ronald McKinnon, for example. According to first year UNA head coach Brent Dearmon, the same invite has been extended to a host of other former Lion greats.
 
"You look at what's going on, the facilities — all that we have is because of that guy," said Dearmon of Wallace. "The tradition is what it is because of that guy. The trophies we have are because of that guy, and we're just honored to have him. We flipped an off day and a practice day just so we could have him out because it's so important to us to be able to do this in front of him and let him talk to our guys about building tradition."
 
When addressing the team, Wallace referenced his three points of what makes a great football team — good players, sound coaching and the "intangibles" — relationships, trust, unselfishness and a team-mindset, for example.
 
Wallace said he also plans to attend the FCS Kickoff game against Mercer on August 26 in Montgomery, Ala. Another big event on his calendar is the reunion of the 1993 National Championship team, which will go down on Saturday, Sept. 23 against UT Martin at Braly Stadium.
 
"I can't wait," Wallace said. "The reunion will be a lot of fun. I've talked to guys like Sam Graham and Tyrone Rush — Tyrone is flying in from Los Angeles — and they're doing great. I'm looking forward to seeing all of them. When you go through what we went through, you develop relationships that last a lifetime. It's almost like coming back to see family — scratch that — it's exactly like coming back to see your family."
 
The Lions return to practice for an open scrimmage on Saturday, August 12 at 9 a.m. inside historic Braly Stadium. The event is open to the public and media.
 
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