The University of North Alabama: A Historical Overview
The University of North Alabama (UNA), situated in Florence, Alabama, stands as the state's oldest university. Its history is rich and varied, evolving from its origins as a Methodist college to its current status as a comprehensive public university offering a wide array of undergraduate and graduate programs.
Early Years: From LaGrange College to Florence Wesleyan University (1830-1872)
The story of UNA begins with LaGrange College, established on January 11, 1830, in Leighton, Lauderdale County, by the Tennessee and Mississippi Conferences of the Methodist Church. The founders intended for the curriculum to be nondenominational, focusing on literary and scientific instruction rather than theological studies. Robert Paine served as the college's first president, overseeing an initial enrollment of 70 male students and a faculty of three.
In 1846, Edward Wadsworth became the second president of LaGrange College and initiated a scholarship fundraising program. By 1849, enrollment had surpassed 100 students. James W. Hardy succeeded Wadsworth in 1852, followed by Richard Henderson Rivers in 1854.
Shortly after Rivers's appointment, the decision was made to relocate LaGrange College to Florence for financial and logistical reasons. The move occurred in January 1855, with the new site initially consisting of tents until Wesleyan Hall was completed. The Alabama Legislature passed a bill to reincorporate the institution under the new name Florence Wesleyan University. In its first year of operation, Florence Wesleyan enrolled 160 students, attracting individuals from five states and two foreign countries. Though the Civil War loomed, the years immediately preceding the outbreak are considered the best years of the institution during the 19th century. The fledgling university was entirely out of debt and even had amassed an endowment of $50,000.
The Civil War and Reconstruction Era
The American Civil War brought hardship to the institution. Following the firing on Fort Sumter in April 1861, four professors and over one hundred students left the school to take up arms. General William Tecumseh Sherman is considered the most famous Union occupant of Wesleyan Hall during the war. In late 1864, Confederate General John Bell Hood occupied the building. The surrounding grounds served as a meeting place for military personnel and townspeople. Confederate Generals Pierre G.T. Beauregard and Stephen D. Lee also frequented the building.
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After the war, the campus fell largely into disuse. Robert A. Young resigned in 1866, and the university reopened in 1868 with William Henry Anderson as president. Facing declining enrollment, the North Alabama Methodist Conference offered the property to the state of Alabama in 1872, with the condition that it be converted into a training school for teachers.
Transformation into a State Normal School (1872-1929)
The state accepted the proposal, and in 1872, the school was renamed the State Normal School at Florence, with Septimus Primus Rice as president. It became the first state-supported teachers college south of the Ohio River. In 1874, the institution opened its doors to women, becoming one of the first coeducational teacher-training institutions in the nation. The first class graduated in 1877, with three of the four graduates being women.
In 1888, the school underwent a name change from State Normal School to State Normal College. That same year, James Knox Powers, a Florence native and Wesleyan University alumnus, became the fifth president.
Growth and Expansion: Florence State Teachers College and Florence State College (1929-1968)
In 1929, the school was renamed Florence State Teachers College and contracted with the Olmsted Brothers architectural firm to design the planned campus expansion on 130 acres. The Olmsteds were known for their parklike, pastoral designs that incorporated classical elements in the architecture. The campus subsequently added two new halls (Bibb Graves and Rogers), the Memorial Amphitheater, a library, a gymnasium, two dormitories, and married student housing.
The school awarded its first bachelor of science degrees in 1931 and received accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1934. In 1949, the Rogers family sold their home, Courtview, to the school.
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The school's name was shortened in 1957 to Florence State College. The years 1957-68 saw an expansion in course offerings and the beginning of a massive building overhaul on the school's campus. New structures included Floyd Science Building, four new halls (Lafayette, LaGrange, Rice, and Rivers), the Student Union Building, an addition to Collier Library, Towers Cafeteria, the Planetarium-Observatory, a new Kilby School building, and a greenhouse.
Integration and University Status (1963-1974)
In 1963, Florence State admitted its first Black student, Wendell Wilkie Gunn. Even though Gunn had the support of the college's president and administration, Florence State College denied Gunn's application. Then-President E.B. Norton sent Gunn a letter informing him that the Alabama Legislature and Board of Education would not allow the college to accept his application. District Court Judge H.H. Grooms ordered that in a hearing that lasted only ten minutes, after which Gunn returned to campus and enrolled.
In 1968, Florence State College changed its name to Florence State University. During this period, the school opened the Lurleen Burns Wallace Fine Arts Center and the Bennett Infirmary. A Greek system was established on campus in 1972, along with the opening of Flowers Hall gymnasium. Robert Miller Guillot became president in 1972 and oversaw the establishment of the School of Nursing the following year.
The University of North Alabama: A Comprehensive University (1974-Present)
In 1974, the college was renamed the University of North Alabama and rapidly expanded its facilities and instructional capacity. Robert L. Potts took the helm as president in 1990 during a period of economic stress and a decline in funding for public education. Despite these struggles, several buildings were renovated during this time, including Coby Hall, Powers Hall, and Braly Municipal Stadium.
In 1993, the Board of Trustees, anticipating continued and steady enrollment growth, adopted a new master facilities plan to ensure that UNA will be equipped to accommodate 10,000 students.
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Potts resigned in 2004 to take a position as chancellor of the North Dakota University System, and William G. Cale Jr. became president. In 2005, Kenneth D. Kitts was named UNA’s 15th president. Since his tenure began, the university's enrollment surpassed 10,000, and the Delores and Weldon Cole Honors College was established, accounting for 10 percent of the school's overall enrollment. Doctoral programs have been established in three of UNA’s four academic colleges.
UNA currently has students from more than 50 countries as part of its international programs. It is one of the only schools in Alabama to offer a degree in commercial music and one of five schools in the nation to have an accredited occupational health science program.
Campus and Facilities
The University of North Alabama encompasses two campuses, following a decision in June 2006, by the university's board of trustees to purchase J.W. Powell School from the Florence City Schools. UNA's campus facilities master plan was developed by the Olmsted Brothers, the sons of the architect who designed New York City's Central Park.
The campus has three antebellum structures: Wesleyan Hall, Rogers Hall, and Coby Hall, all of which are listed in the National Historic Register.
Wesleyan Hall, with its distinctive towers, is considered one of the most eminent landmarks in North Alabama. During the Civil War, Wesleyan Hall was occupied by both Union and Confederate armies. General William Tecumseh Sherman is considered the most famous Civil War-era occupant of Wesleyan Hall.
Rogers Hall, originally named Courtview, was constructed by planter George Washington Foster in 1855. In the fall of 1864, the residence served as the headquarters of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.
Constructed in 1930, 601 Cramer Way houses UNA's senior administrative offices. The building is named for David Bibb Graves, who served as Alabama's governor from 1927 to 1931 and 1935-39.
Coby Hall was donated to the university in 1990 by David Brubaker in memory of his wife, Coby Stockard Brubaker. Built by John Simpson on the site of his earlier home in 1843, the Simpson House/Irvine Place, as it had been known, later was purchased by George W. Foster for his daughter, Virginia, and her husband, James B. Irvine. The University Admissions office is located in the building.
The Robert M. Guillot University Center, popularly known as the "GUC," houses various student services and dining options. The Memorial Amphitheater, erected in 1934 as a memorial to World War I veterans, is used for outdoor plays, concerts, and speeches.
Keller Hall, originally a men's dormitory, is named after James Albert Keller, who served as president of Florence State Teachers College from 1938 to 1948. Keller Hall serves as the headquarters of UNA's College of Business & Technology.
Willingham Hall, named after long-serving President Henry J. Willingham, was constructed by the Works Projects Administration in 1939. The President's Home, completed in 1941, was also constructed by the Works Projects Administration.
Mattielou and Olive residence halls were completed in fall 2015 and spring 2016, respectively, providing additional housing for students.
The Wendell W. Gunn University Commons was completed in 2014. The $8 million complex houses the University Success Center, Student Financial Services, the UNA branch of Listerhill Credit Union, Starbucks and Chick-fil-A. In March 2018, the building was renamed the Wendell W. Gunn University Commons.
The UNA Science and Engineering Technology Building was completed in 2015. The five-story, 160,000-square-foot facility houses engineering technology, biology, chemistry, occupational health science, physics and earth science.
Academics and Programs
The University of North Alabama offers 219 bachelor's degree programs and concentrations, 45 master's degree programs, 3 education specialist degree programs, 3 doctoral programs, and numerous certificates and micro-credentials. The College of Education and Human Sciences oversees the Kilby Laboratory School (child development center, kindergarten through sixth grade).
The university libraries include Collier Library (main library), the Learning Resources Center located in Stevens Hall, the Music Library located in the Music Building and the Kilby School Library. The combined holdings of the libraries provide users with access to literature from a wide range of disciplines and include newer formats such as streaming media. Collier Library is named in memory of C.B. Collier, Dean of Florence State Teacher's College from 1918 to 1946. Notable items in the 350,000-volume library include the collections of several musicians, actors, and writers, including W.C. Handy.
Athletics
UNA has a long tradition in athletics. Football and baseball teams were first mentioned in the course catalogue in 1911, with the first football team losing 101-0 to the University of the South in 1912. The school nickname is the Lions, and two live lions, Una and Leo III, lived in the George H. Carroll lion habitat until their respective passings in 2020 and 2024. The school colors are gold and purple.
UNA teams play in the NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The university currently fields teams in football, baseball, and softball; men's and women's basketball, cross country, and tennis; men's golf; and women's soccer and volleyball.
The rebirth of football at the University of North Alabama in 1949 marked the beginning of a consistently successful program. The Lions were a perennial power at the NCAA Division II level during the 1980s, the mid-1990s, and for much of the 2000s and 2010s. As an NCAA Division II member, UNA was nationally ranked in the Top 25 of the final Division II poll 21 times from 1980 to 2017, with 15 Top Ten Rankings. UNA's 21 all-time playoff appearances were the second most in Division II history when the Lions left DII in 2017.
In 2018, the Lions began a new chapter with a transition to Division I and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) status. The Lions played as an independent in the FCS in 2018 and finished with a 7-3 record. In 2019, UNA played its first season as a member of the Big South Conference and went 4-7 overall, losing three games by a touchdown or less. The Lions were not eligible to rank in the conference standings due to the transition but would have finished fourth with a 3-4 league mark.
Since coming out of the transition period, the Lions have played numerous ranked opponents and had one of the top 20 toughest schedules in FCS in both 2024 and 2025. On October 12, 2024, the Lions defeated No. 10 ranked Abilene Christian.
UNA's 27 consecutive No. 1 rankings in the Division II polls set a record for the longest stretch of consecutive No. 1 rankings.
Since 1949, 63 different Lion players have earned first or second-team All-American honors. Two Lion players, linebacker Ronald McKinnon (1995) and quarterback Will Hall (2003) won the Harlon Hill Trophy. McKinnon and quarterback Cody Gross have been inducted into the Division II Football Hall of Fame, and McKinnon received the ultimate honor when he was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
Five former Lions have played in the Super Bowl during their careers in the National Football League. The first was receiver Robert Steele who played with the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII.
Student Life
The Flor-Ala, named after Florence, Alabama, has functioned as the school newspaper since 1931. Published in 29 issues each year, the paper is run by UNA students who serve in all facets of news gathering, writing and production.
After more than two generations, UNA Greek life is alive and well, even though fraternities and sororities combined represent slightly less than 10 percent of the undergraduate student population.
The University's Pride Rock tradition began in 1994. Pride Rock is a 69-pound, engraved granite stone bearing the actual paw print of Leo II, UNA's second live lion mascot. Placed just behind the north end zone of all UNA home games, Pride Rock is touched by players as they file past on their way to the field.
On July 22, 1974, former UNA president Robert M. Guillot brought a lion cub to the campus and Leo I spent the next 14 years "roaring" the school to victory. The original Leo died on January 20, 1988, and a great outpouring of support from the Shoals community resulted in Leo II being brought to UNA in July 1988. In 1997, Leo II was selected as the nation's "Second Best Mascot" by Sports Illustrated. He died in February 2000. Leo III was born on November 18, 2002, and resided on the campus in the George H. Carroll Lion Habitat.
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