The North Alabama–West Alabama football rivalry is a

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

rivalry game Pairs of schools, colleges and universities, especially when they are close to each other either geographically or in their areas of specialization, often establish a college rivalry with each other over the years. This rivalry can extend to both ...

between two public universities in the U.S. state of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, the University of North Alabama

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

and the University of West Alabama Tigers. The current winner is West Alabama, who won 38–17, on September 23, 2017. North Alabama leads the all-time series, 52–18–1. The 71 previous meetings mark the most games each team has played against another school and the 52 wins of North Alabama are also its most against an opposing institution.

History

North Alabama and West Alabama first met in 1949 and have played every year. West Alabama is the only program that North Alabama has faced in every season since the Lions restored their football program in 1949, after a 21 year long hiatus since 1928.

Gulf South Conference: 1970–2017

North Alabama and West Alabama have been in the same conference since 1970, and were both founding members of the Mid-South Conference in 1970 and their current conference,

Gulf South Conference The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the Southeastern United States. History Originally known as the Mid ...

a year later. The Lions and Tigers have played ever since 1970 for 49 match ups. In fact, the Lions and Tigers even played twice in the regular-season in 1986. In 2011, the Lions and Tigers met in the regular-season and

post-season The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. West Alabama upset North Alabama in both 2002 and 2004 in Livingston, and in 2009 in four overtimes in Florence when the Lions were ranked No. 1 in the nation. That was West Alabama's first win in Florence since 1987. The Tigers were led in that game by former North Alabama head coach Bobby Wallace. Bobby Wallace has coached at both schools, coaching at North Alabama from 1988–97, West Alabama from 2006-10 and returning to the Lion's from 2012-16. The 2017 season will likely be the last for the rivalry for the foreseeable future, following UNA's announcement that it would upgrade its athletic program to

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

, joining the

ASUN Conference The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Divisio ...

for non-football sports in 2018 and eventually the

Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Th ...

in football.

Game results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:North Alabama-West Alabama Football Rivalry College football rivalries in the United States North Alabama Lions football West Alabama Tigers football 1949 establishments in Alabama

History

Gulf South Conference: 1970–2017

Game results

See also

References