1974 North Alabama Lions football team

1974 North Alabama Lions football
Conference	Gulf South Conference
Record	4–6 (4–4 GSC)
Head coach	Mickey Andrews (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Richie Gaskell (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Mike Dean (2nd season)
Captains	Paul Parvin Tony McMinn Larry Jeffreys
Home stadium	Braly Municipal Stadium

1974 Gulf South Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 7 Jacksonville State $	7	–	1	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Delta State	7	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
No. 8 Livingston	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Southeastern Louisiana	5	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Troy State	4	–	4	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
North Alabama	4	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Nicholls State	4	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Northwestern State	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
Tennessee–Martin	1	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Mississippi College	0	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

The 1974 North Alabama Lions football team represented the University of North Alabama as a member of the Gulf South Conference (GSC) during the 1974 NAIA Division I football season. Led by second-year head coach Mickey Andrews, the Lions compiled an overall record of 4–6 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, tying for fifth place in the GSC. North Alabama played home game at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 14	7:30 p.m.	Southeastern Louisiana	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL	L 17–21	8,300
September 21	7:30 p.m.	at Livingston	Tiger Stadium Livingston, AL (rivalry)	L 16–28	3,000
October 5	7:30 p.m.	at Delta State	Delta Field Cleveland, MS	L 10–26	6,500
October 12	7:30 p.m.	at Western Carolina*	Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC	L 7–32	6,500
October 19	7:30 p.m.	at Austin Peay*	Municipal Stadium Clarksville, TN	L 14–20	5,400
October 26	2:00 p.m.	Troy State	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL	L 29–36	8,200–8,300
November 2	7:00 p.m.	at Mississippi College	Robinson Stadium Clinton, MS	W 30–23	4,500
November 9	7:30 p.m.	Nicholls State	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL	W 17–8	6,000–7,000
November 16	7:30 p.m.	Tennessee–Martin	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL	W 42–10	3,000
November 23	2:00 p.m.	Jacksonville State	Paul Snow Memorial Stadium Jacksonville, AL	W 28–24	5,000–5,500
*Non-conference game Homecoming

Offseason

Name change

Despite little change on the football end of things, Florence State University would undergo a big change. On December 27, 1973, the Board of Trustees voted to change the name to University of North Alabama. This change would come into effect on August 15, just one month before the beginning of the football season.

The reasons stated for the change include broader support and greater visibility for the university. Also included was the potential confusion between Florence State University and Florida State University as they both shared the abbrivation of "FSU."

Preseason conference poll

The Gulf South Conference released their preseason coaches' poll on August 3.

GSC coaches' poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Troy State	83 (6)
2	Jacksonville State	73 (2)
3	Northwestern State	61 (2)
4	Delta State	53
5	Livingston	47
6	Southeastern Louisiana	-
7	North Alabama	-
8	Mississippi College	-
9	Nicholls State	-
10	Tennessee-Martin	-

Transfers

Transfers In

Name	Pos.	Hometown	Transfer from
Creig Bell	TE	Addison, AL	Southern Mississippi
Robert Harris	DE	Springville, AL	Samford
Randy Lee	QB	Addison, AL	Samford
Kelly Pool	LB	Lanette, AL	Samford
Burnis Rose	RB	Leeds, AL	Samford

Source:

Recruiting

Signees

Name	Pos.	Hometown	High School
Mike Allison	FB	Birmingham, AL	Woodlawn High School
David Atkins	K	Guin, AL	Marion County High School
Ricky Baker	OT	Thomaston, GA	Thomaston High School
Rodney Bivens	CB	Birmingham, AL	Minor High School
Steve Clark	QB	Birmingham, AL	Shades Valley High School
Jerry Davis	C	Athens, AL	Athens High School
Louie Davis	OG	Huntsville, AL	Butler High School
Stan Debord	DT	Lafayette, GA	Lafayette High School
Butch Garrison	DE	Birmingham, AL	Jones Valley High School
Tony Hendon	DB	Birmingham, AL	West End High School
Frank Higginbotham	DB	Trussville, AL	Hewitt High School
Rocky Jacobs	LB	Northport, AL	Tuscaloosa County High School
Billy King	LB	Hueytown, AL	Hueytown High School
Ricky Kirkpatrick	OT	Russellville, AL	Russellville High School
Fred Mahler	DE	Nashville, TN	Father Ryan High School
Bob Martin	TE	Birmingham, AL	Banks High School
Mark Neuhauser	LB	Demopolis, AL	Demopolis High School
Donald Pearson	TE	Birmingham, AL	West End High School
Billy Reynolds	FB	Huntsville, AL	Butler High School
Fred Rosenblum	DB	Huntsville, AL	Huntsville High School
David Seymour	WR	Decatur, AL	Decatur High School
Myles Smith	TE	Birmingham, AL	West End High School
Robert Steele	TE	Columbus, GA	Hardaway High School
James Tanniehill	RB	Silura, AL	Thompson High School
Willie Taylor	DT	Birmingham, AL	Ensley High School
Lawrence Versa	RB	Athens, TN	Athens High School
John Wall	DT	Milledgeville, GA	Milledge Academy
Terence Witherspoon	DT	Fairfield, AL	Fairfield High School

Source:

Game summaries

vs. Southeastern Louisiana

Game One – North Alabama Lions vs. Southeastern Louisiana Lions – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Southeastern Louisiana	0	6	8	7	21
North Alabama	8	3	0	6	17

at Braly Municipal Stadium • Florence, Alabama

• Date: September 14
• Game time: 7:30 p.m. CDT
• Game attendance: 8,300

Game information

First quarter UNA – Roger Ralph 8-yard pass from Roger Ferrell (Mike Allison pass from Roger Ferrell) (UNA 8-0) Second quarter SLU – Jay Daniel 7-yard pass (2-point conversion no-good) (UNA 8-6) UNA – Creig Bell 24-yard field goal (UNA 11-6) Third quarter SLU – Horace Belton 2-yard rush (Jay Daniel rush) (SLU 14-11) Fourth quarter SLU – Horace Belton 3-yard rush (Saia kick) (SLU 21-11) UNA – Clayton Lundy 80-yard punt return (Kick no good) (SLU 21-17)

Statistics	UNA	SLU
First downs	12	19
Total yards	227	342
Rushing yards	132	280
Passing yards	95	62
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	7-20-1	5-12-0
Punts	6-35.6	4-39.2
Fumbles/Lost	2-0	3-2
Penalties	4-46	5-27

Roster

1974 North Alabama Lions football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class FB Mike Allison Fr WR Frankie Amos Fr WR Richard Bagwell So OT Ricky Baker Fr TE Creig Bell So C Richard Bowers Jr RB Maurice Brawley Fr QB Steve Clark Fr C Jerry Davis Fr G Louie Davis Fr QB Roger Ferrell Jr OT Tim Harden So G Ben Hawks So RB Marvin Jarman So OT Barry Johnson Jr WR Charlie Kennedy So OT Ricky Kirkpatrick So WR Mike Knight Jr OT Barry Koehn Jr QB Randy Lee So TE Bob Martin Fr QB Nick Martelli Fr FB Tony McMinn (C) Sr RB Marc Merritt So FB Jerry Mizell Jr RB Terry Mizell Jr C Joe Moore Fr G Andy Morris Jr TE John Musick So G Paul Parvin (C) Sr TE Donald Pearson Fr RB James Pointer Fr WR Roger Ralph Jr FB Billy Reynolds Fr RB Burnis Rose So WR David Seymour Fr QB Mike Shipp So TE Myles Smith Fr WR Ricky Smith Fr TE Robert Steele Fr G Frank Strickland So RB James Tanniehill Fr RB Lawrence Versa Fr RB Sandy Vinson Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB Rodney Bivens Fr DB Eddy Burns So DT Buddy Childs So DE James Crawford Fr LB John Connell Jr DT Stan Debord Fr DE Frank Deliz So DB Curtis Dixon So DT Jud Driver So DB Jim Ezell Jr DE Butch Garrison Fr LB Frankie Hammock Fr LB Tom Hardy Fr DE Robert Harris So DB Tony Hendon Fr DB Frank Higginbotham Fr DB Robbie Hudson Jr LB Rocky Jacobs Fr DB Larry Jeffreys (C) Sr LB Billy King Fr LB Bill Loden So DE Sparks Lunceford So DB Clayton Lundy So DE Fred Mahler Fr DB Mike McCombs So DT Mike Murray So LB Mark Neuhauser Fr DB Mike Petty Fr LB Kelly Pool Jr LB Ivan Richards Jr DB Fred Rosenblum Fr DE Tobin Sexton So LB Norman Simms So DE David Stalcup So LB Lawrence Stephens So LB Steve Stewart Jr DB Randy Stokes Fr DB Jimmy Sullivan Fr DT Willie Taylor Fr DT John Wall Fr DB Abe Washington Fr DT Terence Witherspoon Fr DB Terry Wray Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K David Atkins Fr	Head coach Mickey Andrews Coordinators/assistant coaches Richie Gaskell – Offensive coordinator Mike Dean – Defensive coordinator Wally Burnham – Offensive line coach Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt