10 CHAMPIONS WAY (September 25, 2026) – The University of North Alabama football team is back in action for its only afternoon home game of the season this weekend, welcoming Western Illinois for a 3 p.m. kickoff at Bobby Wallace Field at Bank Independent Stadium.
This will mark UNA's second all-time football game on campus after playing 77 seasons at historic Braly Stadium. The first football game on campus was a successful one last weekend, as the Lions were over seating capacity with 11,830 fans and defeated Alcorn State 38-20.
Tickets are limited but still available by calling 256-765-5466 or by visiting
this link. Fans can also
watch on ESPN+ or listen world-wide via
Roar Lions Productions.
Gates open at 1 p.m. However, the festivities begin much sooner as tailgating drop-off at The Pines begins at 6 a.m. and reserved parking opens at 10 a.m. The Lion Walk will begin at 12:30 p.m. on Pine Street.
Fans are encouraged to review the following material while making plans to attend.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game: North Alabama vs. Western Illinois
Date: Saturday, September 26
Time: 3 p.m.
Location: Florence, Ala.
Stadium: Bobby Wallace Field at Bank Independent Stadium
Capacity: 10,000
TV: ESPN+ ("Voice of the Lions"
Benjamin Ray, Bryan Neece,
Gyvan Hammons)
Radio: Roar Lions Productions (Jordan Campbell, Jacob Tucker,
Chase Glover)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Click Here
Social Media:
@UNAFootball
UNA Game Notes |
Opponent Game Notes |
UAC Notes
NOTABLES
HOW WE GOT HERE: Sept. 19 was a historic night for UNA, as the Lions played (and won) their first on-campus game in program history. UNA was founded 196 years ago in 1830 and the first football team was fielded 144 years ago in 1912. This team — then known as Florence State Normal — played an organized football game against Butler High School at what was then known as Florence Athletic Park — the North Florence Athletic Field near seven points off Chisholm Road. There are also records of UNA playing in 1928 at Coffee Field, then later Coffee Stadium in 1949 which later became Braly Stadium in 1964. Braly Municipal Stadium was shared with local high schools over the years and was home to UNA for 424 home games in 77 seasons. Braly now belongs to Florence High School, while UNA opened Bobby Wallace Field at Bank Independent Stadium this season.
FIRST ON CAMPUS GAME: UNA has played 833 games in 78 seasons since the rebirth of the program in 1949. Of those 833 games, 424 were played at Braly Stadium and 408 have been at other sites. UNA has played football in 24 different states and has battled 112 different institutions. The farthest a UNA team has traveled for a game was 2,470 miles to Western Oregon in 2015. This is one of four trips to span over 2,000 miles. The trips to Braly Stadium spanned 1.4 miles from the team's on-campus locker room. Last Saturday was the first time UNA did not have to travel any distance to play, but rather take roughly 200 steps from the locker room to the field.
NEW DIGS: UNA has the newest stadium in college football as of this week, making national headlines from the likes of ESPN, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Bleacher Report, the NCAA and
The Dan Patrick Show, among others. Prior to UNA, the last FCS schools to open a new stadium (full-build excluding renovations) are Abilene Christian and East Tennessee State in 2017. Northwestern (FBS) will open its new stadium on Oct. 2 and will become the newest in Division I at that time. The next FCS program expected to open a new stadium is West Florida in 2027.
LAST TIME OUT: UNA knocked off Alcorn State 38-20 last Saturday in Florence, reaching a new season high in scoring with electric offense. UNA outscored Alcorn 28-7 in the first and fourth quarters. Three of UNA's five touchdowns came on plays of 30 or more yards, including the first touchdown catch in the new stadium by redshirt sophomore
Snap Reed from 31 yards out. Redshirt freshman
Xavier Johnson ran a 75-yard reverse for a touchdown, while teammate
TJ Holmes took a screen pass 72 yards to the house in the fourth quarter.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT: Western Illinois is 2-2 this season and has yet to play an even game, dominating Northwestern College (65-14) in its opener and Morehead State (59-2) last week at home. The two losses came at the hands of last year's FCS runner-up and third-ranked Illinois State (41-10) and to Big 10 opponent Wisconsin (36-9). The Leathernecks rank sixth in the nation in completion percentage with nearly 70 percent of passes going for catches, led by quarterbacks Kennedy McGill and Cason Carswell who combine for 985 passing yards this season. Both were preseason players to watch in the Ohio Valley Conference with McGill being an all-purpose player. The rushing offense ranks among the top 25 teams in FCS. The defense ranks fifth in the nation with 244.8 yards per game. WIU was picked sixth of eight teams in the OVC preseason poll.
SERIES HISTORY: Saturday will mark the second all-time meeting between WIU and UNA. UNA won the first meeting in 2019 with a 26-17 victory in Florence. That game was the first time UNA had hosted an FCS opponent as a member of FCS. Prior to this, the last time UNA hosted a Division I team was Troy in 1992. Terence Humphrey rushed 12 times for 102 yards and a score, while Cortez Hall caught two passes for 113 yards and a score.
ROOKIE SENSATION: Redshirt freshman
Xavier Johnson — a transfer from Memphis — is the top receiver in FCS through four games. He has 24 catches for 472 yards and two touchdowns. He is a three-time UAC Freshman of the Week selection, doing so in four games. Johnson is one of three Lions to win three freshman of the week awards from the UAC since the league began in 2023, including former Lion Josh Anglin and current teammate
Jalen Fletcher in 2024. UNA has won this award 13 times in four seasons, more than any other member of the UAC.
RUN AND CATCH: Johnson scored a touchdown against Alcorn State last week, but not in the predictable way. He ran a reverse play for a 75-yard touchdown run, which became the first rushing touchdown in Bank Independent Stadium history. He is one of just two players in FCS to have a rush attempt and a reception for 75-yards or more this season. The other is Montana running back Eli Gillman.
DEFENSE ON LOCKDOWN: UNA has one of the top rushing defenses in the nation, bolstered by a talented front seven. The Lions rank 10th in FCS in rushing defense with 95.5 yards allowed per game. UNA is also ninth in the country with 7.8 tackles for loss per game. Both are the top marks in the UAC.
WELCOME TO TAE-MART: Sophomore defensive back
Tae Martin has been a breakout player on the defense for UNA, ranking among the top 10 tacklers in the UAC and leading the Lions with 27 total. In the last road game at SLU, he led with 11 tackles. For the season, he also has 3.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and four pass breakups with at least one breakup in every game. Fans can expect him to constantly match up with the opponent's best receiver.
TURNOVER TANDEM: The first (and currently only) turnover in Bank Independent Stadium history came on the second defensive play last week against Alcorn State, as senior captain
Jyheam Ingram batted a pass into the air that landed in the hands of linebacker
Nolan Forsha for an interception. This led to a touchdown catch by senior
KJ Fields on the next play to make it 14-0 within the first five minutes of the game.
WADE'S WORLD: Quarterback
Destin Wade ranks 12th in the country when it comes to passing yards per completion — not shying away from the deep ball. He totals 15.31 yards per completion. He is also top 25 in the country and second in the UAC with 903 passing yards this season. The only UAC QB ahead of him is the nation's leader from Tarleton State, Kaden Anderson, with 1,200 yards in four games.
CAPTAINS: UNA named its four permanent captains for the 2026 season during fall camp, including redshirt senior defensive line transfer
Joshua White, senior defensive lineman
Jyheam Ingram, redshirt senior offensive lineman
Collin Wright and redshirt junior quarterback
Destin Wade. Ingram and Wright are both Muscle Shoals natives.
UAC ROUNDUP: No. 3 ranked Tarleton State and EKU are both on bye weeks, but everyone else from the UAC is in action. No. 11 Austin Peay and No. 20 West Florida will join UNA in taking on OVC opponents with the Govs hosting UT Martin and the Argonauts going to SEMO. Central Arkansas will battle at Florida State, where FSU head coach and UCA alum Mike Norvell will take on his alma mater led by his former teammate Nathan Brown. West Georgia will host Fort Valley State, while Abilene Christian will welcome No. 25 Mercer with hopes of getting back in the rankings.
NEW LOOK UAC: UNA Football has been a member of the United Athletic Conference since 2023, which began as a partnership between the ASUN and WAC Conferences for football. On July 1, 2026, the UAC became an official conference as part of the Unison Sports consortium along with the ASUN, making the UAC the primary conference for UNA Athletics as a whole. Of the 19 sports UNA sponsors, 17 is a member of the UAC with the exception of beach volleyball and men's tennis.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
