ABILENE, Texas. (October 2, 2025) – As the calendar flips to October, the University of North Alabama football team turns its focus to United Athletic Conference play. The Lions open the UAC slate Saturday afternoon against No. 19 Abilene Christian in West Texas.
 
Here are the top things to know for Saturday's road game.
 
1. KICKOFF: The Lions and Wildcats will kickoff at 2 p.m. from Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium.
 
2. TICKETS: Tickets are available at this link or can be purchased at the stadium four hours prior to kickoff in the Wildcat Ticket Center on the west side, north of the main entrance. Prices start at $17. Gates open two hours prior to kickoff. Fans can call 325-674-2287 or click here for more information.
 
3. PARKING: Public parking is available around ACU's campus and opens four hours prior to kickoff. These spots are available on a first come, first serve basis. Parking on any grassy areas or unpaved surfaces is not allowed. Additional off-campus parking is available at University Church of Christ on East North 16th Street. Accessible passenger drop-off and pick-up will be available in the lot west of Elmer Gray Stadium. A shuttle will run from there to the Main Entrance of the stadium starting 90 minutes prior to kickoff. For more info, click here.
 
4. MUGSHOTS WATCH PARTY: Fans who are not making the trip to Texas are encouraged to join our watch party at Mugshots in Downtown Florence. The broadcast will begin at 2 p.m. Mugshots is the official UNA Watch Party location for away football games this season.
 
5. WATCH ON ESPN+: Saturday's game will stream on ESPN+ with Andy Penney and Jim Reese on the call. Fans can tune in at 2 p.m. at this link or on the ESPN app.
 
6. NEW RADIO HOME: This season, the Lions are on the fastest growing digital radio platform in college football, The Varsity Network. The broadcast is also available on Facebook, X, YouTube, Twitch and roarlions.com/watch. Fans can choose their preferred method at this link. "Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray, color analyst Bryan Neece and sideline reporter Mike Ezekiel will be the radio broadcast team for Saturday. The Countdown to Kickoff Presented by Bank Independent begins at 1 p.m. followed by kickoff at 2 p.m.
 
7. LIVE STATS: Fans who are interested in following live stats can do so via StatBroadcast.
 
8. SERIES HISTORY: UNA and Abilene Christian will battle for the fourth time ever this Saturday. UNA leads the series 2-1. The series started with a highly-touted Division II matchup between a pair of top-five teams in 2011. The No. 4 Lions defeated the No. 3 Wildcats by a 23-17 final inside the newly-constructed Cowboys Stadium — now AT&T Stadium. The teams met again as conference opponents in 2023, as ACU won 30-13 in Abilene. The Lions avenged this loss in 2024 with a 47-34 win at Braly Stadium. This marked UNA's first all-time win over a nationally-ranked FCS opponent.
 
9. UNA vs. THE LONE STAR STATE: The Lions have a 9-6 record against teams from the state of Texas, including a perfect 6-0 record against Texas A&M Kingsville from 1993 to 2013. The Javelinas were UNA's opponent in the 1993 Division II national semifinal and 1994 Division II championship game, where the Lions went on to win the first two of three straight national championships. UNA has also played ACU, Tarleton State and East Texas A&M (formerly known as Texas A&M Commerce).
 
10. SIMILARITIES: The Lions and Wildcats have more in common than just their affiliation in the United Athletic Conference. Both schools use a purple color scheme, both have feline mascots, both were perennial powers at the Division II level and both have players from their Division II matchup that went on to the NFL. Additionally, both head coaches were coordinators in the Big 12 with UNA's Brent Dearmon the offensive coordinator at Kansas and ACU's Keith Patterson the defensive coordinator at Texas Tech. This will be the fifth matchup between Dearmon and Patterson with two as coordinators and two as head coaches. They are split 2-2 in those games.
 
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.