North Alabama Hosts Tuskegee in Second Round of Playoffs

 UNA Head Football Coach Bobby Wallace and Tuskegee Head Coach Willie Slater
 prior to 2013 playoff meeting

FLORENCE, Alabama -- The University of North Alabama will host Tuskegee University Saturday (November 28) in the second round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs at Braly Municipal Stadium. Kickoff is set for 11:30 AM Central Time.

Both teams bring 9-2 records into the contest, with UNA coming off a 50-7 home win over Newberry in the opening round of the playoffs and Tuskegee having downed Catawba 26-16 on the road.

It will be the second meeting in the playoffs between UNA and Tuskegee in the last three seasons. The Lions downed the Golden Tigers 30-27 in Florence in the opening round of the 2013 playoffs in Tuskegee's first-ever NCAA Playoff game. The win last weekend over Catawba was the first playoff win for the Tuskegee program in three tries.

North Alabama and Tuskegee have faced two common opponents this season in Miles College and UNC Pembroke. UNA defeated Miles 34-17 in its season opener in Birmingham and downed UNC Pembroke 62-28 on October 17. Tuskegee lost to both schools, falling 29-17 at UNC Pembroke and 26-23 at home against Miles.

The game features the two winningest collegiate football programs in the state of Alabama, by percentage, since 1990. UNA has a 222-86-1 record over the last 26 seasons for a 72.0 winning percentage. Tuskegee is 203-84-1 for a 70.6 percentage. Alabama is third at 69.7 and Auburn is fourth at 67.1.

North Alabama and Tuskegee are coached by two of the most successful coaches in Division II football history. UNA's Bobby Wallace has a 115-48-1 record in his 14 years at the school, leading the Lions to nine NCAA Playoff appearances and three NCAA Division II National Championships. He already holds membership in the UNA Athletic Hall of Fame, the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and the Division II Football Hall of Fame.

Tuskegee is coached by former UNA offensive coordinator Willie Slater who helped lead the Lions to their three NCAA Division II National Championships in the 1990s under Bobby Wallace. Slater was also an assistant on Wallace's staff at Temple. Slater was offensive coordinator at UNA from 1992-99. Slater has a stellar 90-23 record in his 10 seasons as Tuskegee's head coach. Tuskegee has won nine games in eight of Slater's 10 years at the school.



UNA is led offensively by senior quarterback Luke Wingo of Tuscaloosa who will be starting his 37th game for the Lions on Saturday. He has a 26-10 record as a starter and has led UNA to three straight GSC titles and three straight NCAA Playoff appearances. He has thrown for 2,958 yards and 25 touchdowns this season and now has 8,129 career passing yards with 60 TD passes. Wingo was named GSC Offensive Player of the Year in 2015 and is a candidate for the Harlon Hill Trophy as Division II National Player of the Year.

UNA averages 38.5 points and 485.4 yards per game this season on offense and boast one of the nation's top defenses against the pass, allowing just 155 yards through the air per game.

Tuskegee is led by a defense that has allowed just 15.8 points per game this season.The Golden Tigers have allowed just 23 touchdowns in 11 games this season. Quarterback Kevin Lacey has thrown for 1,683 yards and 13 touchdowns and a balanced rushing attack is led by Dennis Norfleet who has 616 yards and two scores.

UNA is 3-0 all-time against Tuskegee. The Lions downed the Golden Tigers 26-7 at Tuskegee in 1979, then defeated the Golden Tigers 25-13 the following year in Florence. The two schools met in the first round of the 2013 Division II Playoffs in Florence with UNA winning 30-27.

North Alabama has a 41-5-1 record all-time against teams from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. UNA's last loss to an SIAC team was 17-10 to Albany State in Albany in the 1996 season-opener. The Lions have a current seven-game winning streak against SIAC institutions.

Ticket Sales
UNA season ticket holders will have until Wednesday at noon to claim their same seats for the playoff game. All other tickets go on sale on Monday at 8 a.m. at the UNA Ticket Office. There will be no on-line sales until Wednesday at 1 p.m.. Tickets are $15 for bench-back reserved seats and prime bench area. Other seats are $10 each and student tickets are $5.

The UNA Ticket Office will be open Monday and Tuesday from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and from 8-12 on Wednesday. The office will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving but will re-open Friday from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.



COURTESY UNA PRESS RELEASE