2019 North Alabama Lions football team

The 2019 North Alabama Lions football team represented the University of North Alabama during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Chris Willis. The Lions played their home games at Braly Municipal Stadium as a first-year member of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 4–7, 3–4 in Big South play, however due to their transition to NCAA Division I, their official conference record is 0–0.

2019 North Alabama Lions football
Conference	Big South Conference
2019 record	4–7 (0–0 Big South)
Head coach	Chris Willis (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Ryan Alpin
Defensive coordinator	Steadman Campbell
Home stadium	Braly Municipal Stadium (Capacity: 14,215)

2019 Big South Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 12 Monmouth $^		6	–	0					11	–	3
No. 13 Kennesaw State ^		5	–	1					11	–	3
Charleston Southern		4	–	2					6	–	6
Campbell		3	–	3					6	–	5
Hampton		1	–	5					5	–	7
Gardner–Webb		1	–	5					3	–	9
Presbyterian		1	–	5					2	–	10
North Alabama *		0	–	0					4	–	7
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant * North Alabama ineligible for FCS postseason play due to transition to NCAA Division I Rankings from STATS Poll

Previous season

The Lions finished the 2018 season with a record of 7–3, competing as an FCS independent.

Preseason

Big South poll

The Big South preseason poll was released on July 21, 2019. Due to their transition to NCAA Division I, North Alabama was not ranked.[1]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Kennesaw State	134 (14)
2	Monmouth	122 (5)
3	Charleston Southern	79 (1)
4	Campbell	73
5	Gardner–Webb	67
6	Hampton	64
7	Presbyterian	21
—	North Alabama	n/a

Preseason All–Big South team

The Lions had one player selected to the preseason all-Big South team.[2]

Offense Jakobi Byrd – WR

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 29	7:00 p.m.	Western Illinois*	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL	ESPN+	W 26–17	10,576
September 7	8:00 p.m.	at No. 22 Montana*	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	Pluto TV	L 17–61	24,023
September 14	6:00 p.m.	Alabama A&M*	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL	ESPN+	L 24–31	12,767
September 21	6:00 p.m.	at No. 10 Jacksonville State*	JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	ESPN+	L 12–30	21,976
September 28	3:00 p.m.	Presbyterian	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL	ESPN+	W 41–21	8,573
October 5	1:00 p.m.	at Hampton	Armstrong Stadium Hampton, VA	ESPN+	L 34–40	4,213
October 19	6:00 p.m.	Charleston Southern	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL	ESPN+	L 20–25	6,878
October 26	2:00 p.m.	at No. 6 Kennesaw State	Fifth Third Bank Stadium Kennesaw, GA	ESPN3	L 17–41	4,546
November 2	1:30 p.m.	Campbell	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL	ESPN+	W 25–24	8,953
November 9	11:00 a.m.	at No. 19 Monmouth	Kessler Field West Long Branch, NJ	ESPN+	L 38–49	3,132
November 16	12:30 p.m.	at Gardner–Webb	Ernest W. Spangler Stadium Boiling Springs, NC	ESPN+	W 34–30	1,486
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

[3][4]

Game summaries

Western Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Leathernecks	0	14	3	0	17
Lions	6	13	7	0	26

at Montana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	7	10	0	0	17
Grizzlies	10	6	24	21	61

Alabama A&M

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	0	0	21	10	31
Lions	9	9	3	3	24

at Jacksonville State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	0	6	6	0	12
No. 10 Gamecocks	7	16	0	7	30

Presbyterian

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Hose	2	7	6	6	21
Lions	7	14	17	3	41

at Hampton

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	2	0	13	19	34
Pirates	6	14	3	17	40

Charleston Southern

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buccaneers	10	3	3	9	25
Lions	11	0	6	3	20

at Kennesaw State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	7	10	0	0	17
No. 6 Owls	6	21	7	7	41

Campbell

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Camels	0	14	7	3	24
Lions	0	15	7	3	25

at Monmouth

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	0	7	10	21	38
No. 19 Hawks	7	7	21	14	49

at Gardner–Webb

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	0	14	7	13	34
Runnin' Bulldogs	7	13	3	7	30

References

1. "Kennesaw State Voted 2019 Preseason Football Favorite". Big South Conference. July 21, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
2. "Bahar, Armstrong Headline 2019 Preseason All-Conference Team". Big South Conference. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
3. "2019 North Alabama Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
4. "University of North Alabama - 2019 Football Schedule". roarlions.com. Retrieved April 13, 2019.