Contributed by UNA Athletics Historian Jeff Hodges

FLORENCE, Ala. (October 10, 2024) – Members of the University of North Alabama's first baseball team to win a Gulf South Conference Championship and advance to the NCAA Playoffs will return to the Shoals this weekend to mark the 40th Anniversary of those 1984 milestone accomplishments. 
 
UNA, in its first season under head coach Mike Lane in 1984, faced an uphill battle as the school had suffered four straight losing seasons, and had losing records in 11 of the previous 14 campaigns.
 
Lane's 1984 Lions defied the odds, winning the GSC North Division title, then hosted and swept the GSC Championship series over Mississippi College, 4-1 and 16-5, to win the conference title. 
 
UNA then earned its first-ever NCAA Tournament bid and defeated Troy and Jacksonville State in its first two NCAA games to advance to the finals. Although the Lions came up short in the regional final, the team's 28-24-1 record started a streak of 30-consecutive winning seasons for the baseball program at UNA that ran through the 2013 season.
 
The reunion attendees will also have the opportunity to watch former teammate Harry Shelton be inducted into the UNA Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday morning. Shelton will join 1984 teammates Cedric Landrum and Rick Chavez, who were previously inducted into the Hall of Fame, along with Coach Lane. 
 
Lane spent 25 total seasons with the Lions, winning 908 games, five conference titles and making ten NCAA Tournament appearances. 
 
The list of expected reunion attendees:
 
Mike Lane, Head Coach
Kent Farris, Assistant Coach
 
Players: 
Phil Bates
Steve Jackson
Randy Kelley
Cedric Landrum
Charlie Meyer
Chris Miller
Jim Perialas
David Pounders
Britt Richards
Pete Rodi
Harry Shelton
Mark Shrout
Frankie Turner
Alfred Walker
Kent Willis
 
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