2017 North Alabama Lions football team

The 2017 North Alabama Lions football team represented the University of North Alabama during the 2017 NCAA Division II football season. They were led by first-yer head coach Chris Willis. The Lions played their home games at Braly Municipal Stadium and were members of the Gulf South Conference. They finished the season 5–5, 5–3 in GSC play to finish in a five-way tie for second place.

2017 North Alabama Lions football
ConferenceGulf South Conference
Record5–5 (5–3 GSC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorSteadman Campbell (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorBrett Borden (1st season)
Home stadiumBraly Municipal Stadium
Seasons
← 2016
2018 →
2017 Gulf South Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 12 West Alabama $^   7 1     10 3  
No. 2 West Florida ^   5 3     11 4  
No. 21 Delta State ^   5 3     9 4  
No. 19 West Georgia ^   5 3     9 4  
Valdosta State   5 3     5 4  
North Alabama   5 3     5 5  
Florida Tech   3 5     5 6  
Mississippi College   1 7     1 9  
Shorter   0 8     0 11  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from AFCA Poll

This was their final season as a member of the GSC and NCAA Division II as they will begin a transition to NCAA Division I and the Football Championship Subdivision where they will be a member of the Big South Conference in 2019 after playing 2018 as an FCS independent.

Schedule

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North Alabama announced its 2017 football schedule on April 12, 2017. The schedule consists of five home and away games in the regular season. The Lions will host GSC foes Delta State, Florida Tech, Mississippi College, and West Alabama, and will travel to Shorter, Valdosta State, West Florida, and West Georgia.[1]

The Lions will host one of the two non-conference games against Texas A&M–Commerce from the Lone Star Conference and travel to Central Washington from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 1[a]6:00 p.mNo. 5 Texas A&M–Commerce*No. 6L 7–86,892
September 166:00 p.m.at Valdosta StateNo. 10ESPN3W 30–244,191
September 236:00 p.m.West AlabamaNo. 11
  • Braly Municipal Stadium
  • Florence, AL (Rivalry)
L 17–3810,327
September 301:00 p.m.at West GeorgiaL 23–374,273
October 76:00 p.m.Florida Tech 
  • Braly Municipal Stadium
  • Florence, AL
W 30–77,002
October 1412:00 p.m.at ShorterW 48–01,118
October 213:00 p.m.at No. 9 Central Washington*
L 10–173,719
October 286:00 p.m.Delta State
  • Braly Municipal Stadium
  • Florence, AL
W 20–76,033
November 44:00 p.m.at West FloridaESPN3L 7–305,590
November 111:30 p.m.Mississippi College
  • Braly Municipal Stadium
  • Florence, AL
W 16–77,235
  1. ^ Game was originally scheduled for August 31, but postponed due to Hurricane Harvey.

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011Final
AFCA6111010RV

References

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  1. ^ "LIONS RELEASE 2017 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE" (Press release). University of North Alabama Department of Athletics. April 12, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.