North Alabama Lions

The University of North Alabama (UNA) is a public university in Florence, Alabama. It is the state's oldest public university. Occupying a 130-acre (0.5 km2) campus in a residential section of Florence, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Tuscumbia, Sheffield and Muscle Shoals. The four cities compose a metropolitan area with a combined population of 140,000 people.The University of North Alabama was one of about 180 "normal schools" founded by state governments in the 19th century to train teachers for the rapidly growing public common schools. Some closed but most steadily expanded their role and became state colleges in the early 20th century and state universities in the late 20th century. It was founded as LaGrange College in 1830. It was reestablished in 1872 as the first state-supported teachers college south of the Ohio River. A year later, it became one of the nation's first coeducational colleges.

Wesleyan Hall, constructed in 1856, is one of the oldest structures on the University of North Alabama campus, located in Florence, Alabama.

UNA Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of North Alabama. It is located in Florence, Alabama (USA). It has 2 telescopes, a Celestron 0.35 m Schmidt–Cassegrain telescope. The UNA Planetarium is a 65-seat planetarium with a Spitz A3P projector and East Cost Control Systems controller.

The George H. Carroll Lion Habitat is a 12,764-square-foot (1,185.8 m2), climate-controlled facility located on the campus the University of North Alabama that houses the only live lion mascot in the United States, Leo III. The lion habitat, which was dedicated on October 7, 2007, bears the name of the late owner of the construction firm Pressure Concrete, which built the facility and donated labor, materials and funds. No federal or state dollars or tuition fees were used in construction of the habitat.The habitat cost $1.3 million. Feeding and caring for the lions cost $35,000 annually. All costs of maintaining the animals are covered by charitable contributions.Certified Alarm Company of Alabama provided a sophisticated alarm and surveillance system, which is monitored at all times. The facility exceeds all the requirements of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), a professional accrediting agency. UNA's live lion mascot tradition began in 1973, when then-President Dr. Robert Guillot personally acquired a 12-pound lion cub, now known as Leo I, from a Knoxville, Tennessee, zoo. Since then, his birth date, April 14, has been celebrated as the official lion mascot birthday—an annual event that attracts kindergarten and elementary school children from throughout the Shoals region.The current lions, which are siblings, were born November 18, 2002, at a USDA-sanctioned refuge owned by Glen and Kathy Eldridge in Greenville, New Hampshire.

The College Place Historic District is a historic district in Florence, Alabama. The area was the site of a Confederate fortification during the Civil War. In 1882 the land was purchased by Judge J. J. Mitchell and used as pasture land; Mitchell's house sits on Wood Avenue to the east of the district. The property began to be sold off in the 1900s, with the oldest house in the district dating to 1907. Construction in the district accelerated in the mid- to late-1920s, with many professionals including physicians, merchants, scientists, and attorneys building homes in the neighborhood. Styles represented include Mission Revival, Georgian Revival, and bungalows. The district rises on a slight slope above the campus of the University of North Alabama, and has vistas of the campus including Wesleyan Hall. The district was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1992 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1995; the boundaries were extended in 1998.

The President's Home at the University of North Alabama serves as the official residence of the university president. Constructed by the Works Projects Administration and completed in 1940, the residence is currently occupied by President and Mrs. Kenneth D. Kitts.

CB&S Bank Arena at Flowers Hall, built in 1972, is a 2,200-seat multipurpose arena located in Florence, Alabama. It is used primarily for basketball and volleyball, and is the home of the University of North Alabama Lions basketball and volleyball teams. The first basketball game in the arena was a preseason NBA basketball game between the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks, with Pete Maravich scoring 42 points to lead the Hawks to a 122-120 win. It has also hosted high school basketball games as well. The main court at the arena has been replaced four times, most recently in 2018. In 2004 new scorers' tables and scoreboards were installed, including a center-hung scoreboard that replaced the one installed in 1985. Chairback seats were installed in 1989 on the home side and are sold only to season-ticket holders. In 2018, as part of North Alabama's transition to NCAA Division I, Flowers Hall underwent a $2 million renovation. The renovation included replacing all bleachers, a brand new court, two new video boards, two new scorers' tables, and a new VIP area on the west end of the court. In 2023, Flowers Hall was renamed CB&S Bank Arena at Flowers Hall as part of a ten-year naming rights deal.

The Wood Avenue Historic District is a historic district in Florence, Alabama. The residential neighborhood was primarily developed after Reconstruction, although five houses date from before the Civil War. By the time of Florence's economic boom of the 1880s, the most fashionable upper-class neighborhood in Florence, today known as the Sannoner Historic District, had already been filled in, leading development to move to Wood Avenue to the west. Most homes built during this time were large, Victorian structures, including many elaborate examples of Queen Anne architecture. As the economy slowed in the 1910s, more modest homes were constructed, primarily bungalows. Although they now make up nearly half of the buildings in the district, the first bungalow in the area, the Wade-Ware House, met resistance from neighbors when it was built in 1916, arguing that its style was not up to the standards of the neighborhood. After the completion of Wilson Dam in 1926, Florence's economy quickened once more and larger homes began to be built in the district. Houses of this era tended to be Georgian Revival in style, although other revival styles, such as Spanish Colonial and Tudor are represented. As the neighborhood filled in, the focus of development shifted to the north and west, including in the Walnut Street Historic District.The district was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage and the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Its boundaries were increased in 1996 and 1997.

Rogers Hall, also known as Courtview, is a three-story antebellum house at 500 Court Street in Florence, Alabama. It was built by enslaved people from 1854 to 1855. It is one of the oldest historic landmarks on the University of North Alabama campus and one of the university's most distinctive structures. The building was recorded by the Historic American Buildings Survey from 1934–35. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 13, 1974.

Coffee High School was a public high school established in 1914 in Florence, Alabama. After the 2003–2004 school year, the school merged with Bradshaw High School to form Florence High School.

Bank Independent Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium that has been approved by the University of North Alabama to be constructed in Florence, Alabama to replace Braly Stadium and Mike D. Lane Field for athletic events by the 2026-2027 academic year.It is to be built adjacent to Flowers Hall, which houses the UNA basketball and volleyball programs. The stadium will be designed by Davis Architects who previously designed the 2016 renovation of the Stephen C. O'Connell Center and expansions of Bryant-Denny Stadium.

The Seminary–O'Neal Historic District is a historic district in Florence, Alabama. The district runs along parts of North Seminary Street and East Irvine Avenue near the University of North Alabama campus. The 12 contributing properties are Vernacular cottages, bungalows, and Sears Roebuck-sourced American Foursquares. These were the styles most common in middle-class homes between 1908 and 1943, when Florence underwent a period of large growth driven by manufacturing and, later, the Tennessee Valley Authority. The two Foursquares, built in 1908 and 1926, sit next to each other on Seminary Street. The remaining structures on Seminary are bungalows. The three cottages, two of brick and one of wood, and one bungalow line Irving Avenue. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.