SOAR Paper Part 1

SOAR Edition, 2011 Student Newspaper of the University of North Alabama

Off-campus freshmen must ride buses to UNA in the fall. See pg. 2

Student feebreakdown: what you’re paying for. See pg. 13

Wondering what to do downtown? See pg. 26

Tornadoes rip through state,affect UNA family. See

pg. 11

Bucket List:what studentsneed to knowand do at UNA and in the Shoals

Rich musictradition hitsthe Shoalsduring HandyFest. See pg. 32photo by Susan King

photo by Malisa McClure

The possiblemove to D-I

could impactfuture athletics.

See pg. 37BralyStadiumplays key role in campus sports.See pg.42 photo by Malisa McClure


Page 2 News SOAR Edition, 2011 • The Flor-Ala

Freshmen to ride buses to ease parking issuesPolice hope to fix ongoing parking problems, alleviate traffic on campus

To help alleviate parking issues and open up more spaces at UNA, University Police are requiring all incoming freshmen students who live off-campus to use the Lion Express transportation system to and from designated bus stops in Florence start-ing this fall.

Students will be randomly assigned to park in either the downtown Florence park-ing garage or in the Darby parking lot be-hind Lauderdale Lanes Bowling Alley on Florence Boulevard. Buses will run peri-odically to both areas from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays.

The Darby parking area, which is an approximate 15-minute drive from cam-pus, holds about 500 vehicles, while the Florence City parking garage has around 170 spaces available for UNA students. By requiring freshmen to use the new parking system, offi cials say around 750 additional parking spaces will become available each day on campus.

“It is my hope that students will decide to spend their day on campus, get engaged in activities, attend events, go to the library to study and stay here as much as they can,”

said David Shields, vice president of stu-dent affairs. “This should also save students a lot of money on gas and cut down on them having to circle parking lots and search for spots.”

One bus route will run back and forth from UNA’s Harrison Plaza, located near the fountain, to the Darby parking lot be-hind the bowling alley. Another route will run all day from Darby to the UNA East campus to Harrison Plaza.

The commuter buses will also frequent student-friendly apartment complexes in Florence, like Ivy Green, Four Seasons, Florendale Arms, Red Fern and Courtyard, in hopes of freeing up more parking spaces on campus.

Shields said new freshmen will receive a letter from offi cials with their UNA decal and designated parking area included over the summer. When the fall semester begins, University Police will give students up to two weeks to adjust to the new parking sys-tem before issuing tickets.

UNA police Chief Bob Pastula said offi -cers will regularly patrol both parking areas to prevent crime and are working to bring police substations to the East campus and Darby lot.

“[The system] is probably going to be a bit different for them at fi rst,” Pastula said. “For freshmen, it will be new to them, so nothing will really change from their end. We will watch the areas, monitor them and make adjustments as we need to.”

In May, University Police proposed the freshmen parking plan to the SGA Sen-ate, which voted informally in favor of the new regulations, which will then be sent on for fi nal approval from Executive Coun-cil.

SGA President Ralph Akalonu believes

the parking plan will be effective for the university in the long run.

“This is one of the steps that the univer-sity will have to take to effectively tackle the issue with parking,” Akalonu said. “I think there are some positives to it, and the overall goal outweighs the cons. It will free up a lot of space for upperclassmen and make parking less stressful.”

Sarah Skipworth, an incoming fresh-man who lives with her parents in Killen and will commute each day to UNA, wor-ries that the new parking plan may interfere with her daily schedule and on-campus job.

“I would hate to have to grab a bus,” she said. “It would be inconvenient to have to be there at a certain time when you can’t be on your own schedule. If I have to leave and run errands for work, I wouldn’t be able to leave as I wanted with the buses.”

Students will not be required to pay ad-ditional money outside the required student parking fee for off-campus parking. Shields encourages students to arrive 45 minutes early to the Darby Lot or downtown park-ing garage to ensure that they get to classes on time, as buses will run at each stop every 15 minutes.

”For freshmen, it will be new to them, so nothing will really change from their end. We will monitor them and make adjust-

ments as we need to.” -Chief Bob Pastula

Rivers Hall to be renovated exclusively for freshmen students

photo by Phillip Holcombe

Commuter student Morgan McVay parks outside the Communications Building on campus May 17. Next year, freshman commuter students will have to park in either the Darby parking lot behind Lauderdale Lanes or in the Florence Parking Garage.

Incoming freshmen will have an excit-ing housing opportunity this fall

Rivers Hall dormitory will have reno-vations this fall both physically and mana-gerially. For the fi rst time, the dormitory will be exclusively for freshmen students. The individual rooms will be furnished

with moveable furniture and the halls will be staffed by upperclassmen students who are trained and prepared to assist freshmen with the transition to college life.

The program is based loosely on the program already implemented in LaGrange Hall dormitory, the Starting History On Campus program. This program was de-signed to help students achieve a balance between maintaining good grades, a social

life and campus involvement. The idea to change Rivers Hall into a

freshman dormitory with a similar SHOC program began about one year ago with Kevin Jacques, director of residence life, Audrey Mitchell, director of housing and David Shields, vice president of student affairs.

The program is designed to help fresh-men learn to balance good grades and campus involvement. To do this, odd num-bered fl oors will be staffed by not only a student resident assistant but also a student FYRE fellow, which stands for Freshmen Year Residence Education, said Jacques.

The FYRE fellows were chosen to lead by example in a mentor position through an application process with rigid GPA standards. They must serve as models for healthy study skills and time management.

Along with offering the FYRE program in Rivers Hall, the dormitory will undergo some minor adjustments this summer. The individual rooms are presently furnished with a built-in desk and bookshelf, but this fall all furniture in the rooms will be modular and portable. This will allow the students to rearrange the furniture and con-trol the layout of the room to their liking.

Along with the FYRE programming, Jacques said that Residence Life would also like to be able to implement faculty programming in relation to budgeting and health and wellness.

This will be done with the motive to expand upon and supplement classroom learning. While this will be a transitional period, Residence Life is hoping for suc-

cess with the new program. The program will be evaluated yearly to discern the need for new improvements and to provide help and resources.

“This is a great opportunity for students to meet other freshmen like themselves, and have a well-trained staff available to help, have unique opportuni-ties and, most importantly, to succeed at UNA,” said Jacques.

Rivers Hall will be renovated over the summer to provide a more up-to-date living space for students to enjoy while living on campus.



Workers are renovating Rivers Hall this summer to include better living quar-ters, as well as a new staff member who will work in the hall to provide a role model for incoming students.

Page 3SOAR Edition, 2011 • The Flor-Ala News

The UNA police department will be in a new location next year. It will move from its current location since 1973 on Waterloo Road to the basement of Keller Hall over the summer.

The police department is totally re-vamping its communication systems and police station, UNA police Chief Bob Pas-tula said. He hopes to have the department moved into its new location before students return for the fall semester.

“We wanted to keep the police more centered to the campus,” said David Shields, vice president of student affairs.

The new space, more advanced tech-nology and central location will create a presence on campus, Shields said.

Shields and Pastula are both excited about the station’s major crisis communica-tions center and the services it will be able to provide to students in case of a major emergency on campus or in the area.

The new station will be completely equipped with new offi ces for offi cers, ser-geants and other staff members. The cur-rent location does not have the offi ce space the new station has. In addition to offi ce space, the station will house a dispatcher offi ce, which will be a new feature to the police department.

Pastula expects to hire eight to 10 stu-dents to be dispatchers in the station. The new dispatchers will allow UNA police to dispatch their own offi cers. Currently, of-fi cers are dispatched from the Lauderdale

County 911 center, but in the future offi cers will be dispatched from the new station.

“We can add, build and grow from this,” Shields said.

“I think we were so far behind when I fi rst got here,” Pastula said.

Pastula feels as though the new station and the technology it brings will not only provide a safer campus, but allow students to interact with the police department more.

“Since the offi cers are [on campus] they are a little bit closer to what is going on,” Pastula said. “[The new police station] makes us look more and more professional. The station allows us to provide more of a service to students.”

Pastula said the new station allows stu-

dents to interact more easily with the UNA police department. He admitted that the old location was driving distance from UNA, but the new station will give the department more visibility on campus.

“The offi cers are getting a lot more training,” Pastula said.

Pastula and Shields both said the num-ber one goal they have is to have a top-

notch police force. This goal has been a priority for both of them since they came to UNA.

Pastula also announced UNA police will be operating a substation in the lobby of Rice Hall beginning in the fall. This will allow offi cers to be on the other side of campus as well as in the Harrison Plaza area.

The UNA police department will be adding cameras around campus and in the

GUC to monitor what is going on through-out the day and night at UNA, Pastula said. These cameras will be monitored by the po-lice dispatchers and will allow them to dis-patch offi cers without having to be called by students.

“[The camera system] gives us the ability to have a watch of what’s going on around campus and gives us control over what’s on around campus,” Pastula said.

UNA police to change location, upgrade technology


UNA police Chief Bob Pastula tours the new police station, which will be housed in the basement of Keller Hall. The UNA police department was located in Keller Hall until 1973 when they decided to move to a building on Waterloo Road.

”[The new police station] makes us look more and more professional. The station allows us to provide more of a service

to students.” -Chief Bob Pastula


The Board of Trustees at UNA will de-cide the fate of the university community at their scheduled meeting June 13. The board will decide whether or not UNA will make a move to Division I athletics.

After student protests and strong opposition from campus groups such as Faculty Senate, Staff Senate and SGA, the board decided to postpone their deci-sion in March and develop a strategic plan for the future.

“The president and the majority of the subcommittee recommend the future of UNA athletics to move to Division I,” said Steve Pierce, president pro tempore of the Board of Trustees, at the March meeting. “We are all here for what’s best for this university. Groups have met countless hours regarding D-I.”

“The timing is the critical issue,” said board member Libby Watts-Jordan fol-lowing the March meeting. “If we move up, it is when.”

“[The strategic plan will say] we must accomplish these items before we go Division I,” said UNA spokesman Josh Woods. “The strategic plan is simply a series of benchmarks.”

Woods explained the Board of Trust-ees’ decision is not a simple yes or no decision, the decision is whether or not to pursue Division I athletic status. He also explained the decision is a tough decision and all facets of the decision are being looked into.

“The big question could be how much time do we need,” Woods said.

Woods explained the UNA administra-tion and Board of Trustees are making sure in every way possible that all areas of the

university are not adversely affected by a move to Division I. He emphasized the university is making the Division I move not just about athletics, but about academ-

ics as well. Woods said UNA is doing everything

possible to make sure no existing pro-grams are being cut or affected by the Division I costs. He also said the admin-

istration is working tirelessly to ensure that no fi nancial burden is being placed on students because of the move.

SGA President Uchenna “Ralph”

Akalonu said the Division I move is go-ing to happen. Akalonu said he wants the move to not only encompass athletics, but he wants the move to transition into academics.

“If we are going to do it, we have to do it right,” Akalonu said. “[If we go Division I], don’t make it just an athletics thing.”

Akalonu explained the university is looking to grow, but he wants to ensure the emphasis of the transition is on pre-serving the already strong academic areas UNA currently has.

“I want UNA to be a small school with good athletic programs that can

compete if we go D-I,” Akalonu added. For breaking news updates about the

D-I decision, visit fl orala.net or follow us on Twitter at @UNAFlorAla. The Flor-Ala will update following the June 13 board meeting.

Board moves back D-1 decision, develops strategic planAdministration to ensure academics, current programs not affected by possible move

photo courtesy of Shannon Wells, university photographer

”[The strategic plan will say] we must accomplish these items before we go Division I. The stra-tegic plan is simply a series of

benchmarks. ” -Josh Woods

UNA spokesmanSteve Pierce addresses the Division I decision during the March Board of Trustees meet-ing. The board is deciding whether the university should make the move to Division I athletics in the future. The board decides many things for the university, such as fi nancial and other universit- related decisions.

Page 5SOAR Edition, 2011 • The Flor-Ala

Page 6 Editorial SOAR Edition, 2011 • The Flor-Ala

Lucy BerryExecutive Editor

Josh Skaggs News Editor

Andy Thigpen Life Editor

Alex Lindley Copy Editor

Tommy Bolton Sports Editor

Meet the new Flor-Ala editors

Hometown: Decatur

Major(s): Journalism, English Literature

Favorite local past time:Antique, thrift store shopping

Favorite UNA professor:Dr. Jim Martin

Advice for new freshmen:Be the best version of yourself that you can be.Work really hard for what you want, while being kind to others

In fi ve years, I’d...like to be a crime andinvestigative reporter for a newspaper, while also be ingraduate school working toward a master’s in English

Three personality traits:Curious, reserved, classy

Hometown: Montgomery

Major(s): Entertainment Business with a PR minor

Favorite local past time:Studying at Rivertown with a latte or two, or three..

Favorite UNA professor:Dr. Beth Garfrerick

Advice for new freshmen:Don’t blow your whole academic career on one year. Be smart, responsible and think before making deci-sions

In fi ve years, I’d...like to be working for a major record label working in public relations or being an entertain-ment journalist

Three personality traits:Independent, determined, dependable

Hometown: Section

Major(s): Journalism

Favorite local past time:Playing ultimate frisbee on the UNA practice fi eld

Favorite UNA professor:Dr. Jim Martin

Advice for new freshmen:Always keep your head up,even when times are bad.

In fi ve years, I’d...like to be living in Orlando,Fla. at the beach, working as a sports writer for The Orlando Sentinel

Three personality traits:Sports fan, friendly, fun

Hometown: Florence

Major(s): Professional Writing with a French minor

Favorite local past time:Playing soccer with friends and going to Shoals cultural events

Favorite UNA professor:Dr. Keith Lindley for obviousreasons

Advice for new freshmen:Learn that all disciplines areinterconnected and get involvedin a variety of them

In fi ve years, I’d...like to have a graduate degreeand be a freelance writer oreditor

Three personality traits:Hardworking, happy, interested

The 2011-2012 Flor-Ala staff wants to know what you think about our stories, photos and other content.

If you’re not a writer or jour-nalism major, but want to get your voice in the student newspaper, consider writing a letter to the editor.

The editorial staff of The Flor-Ala has established the following policies concerning Letters to the Editor submit-ted for publication during the academic year.

• Letters must not exceed 400 words. If a letter exceeds the 400-word limit, the writer will be notified, if that is pos-sible, and asked to edit it to an acceptable length.

• Only letters accompanied by the writer’s legible signature, current address and telephone number will be considered

for publication.

•The Flor-Ala prefers to pub-lish your letters exactly as written, but reserves the right to reject slanderous or libel-ous material.

• The publication of any let-ter is left to the discretion of the Editorial Board. A writer who hand-delivers a letter must present photo identifi-cation.

•Any written work submit-ted through an electronic medium may be subject to publication, unless otherwise

specified by the sender.

• The Board prefers that let-ters be oriented to issues, rather than personalities.Priority is given to letters critical of The Flor-Ala, or written in direct response to an editorial, a column, or a news story.

When the editors deem it necessary for ease of under-standing or to clarify facts, an Editor’s Note may accom-pany a letter.

• The editor(s) may exercise the option of responding to a letter, but will do so in the issue following the one in which the letter appears.

• Address correspondence to The Flor-Ala. UNA Box 5300, Florence, AL 35632.

Letters may also be submitted through e-mail or florala.net.

Have something to say about our paper?

E-mail usat florala@

una.edu

Hometown: Florence

Major(s): English, Professional Writing

Favorite local past time:Going to see local bands, plays and downtown events

Favorite UNA professor:Dr. Cynthia Burkhead

Advice for new freshmen: Practice good time management

In fi ve years, I’d...like to be teaching writing or English at a university during the year and relaxing on my own private yacht with an orangutan butler named Winston during the summer

Three personality traits:Obscure, nostalgic, chillaxed

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Students and Family:

This is an exciting time for everyone in your family, and I’m sure students, parents, family and friends are feeling a mixture of emotions.

We in the SOAR program are here to help in every way we can by providing explanations for whatever may be unclear, by taking each student through the registration process, by orienting students and families to this great university. If there is something you would like to know, our pur-pose during SOAR is to provide

that information to you. By now there is probably not

a single piece of advice that has not already been said by someone to each of you entering UNA. I don’t want to add to the list, but I do want you to fi nd success here as you prepare for the future.

Your highest priority is to study and earn good grades. If you have any doubts about how to accomplish that, or fi nd that what you thought was a good strategy is not working for you in college, seek help. Grades in college are cumulative—every grade you earn is averaged into a composite.

Bad grades during the fi rst year are exceedingly diffi cult to over-come, so don’t let that happen to you.

You have chosen a distin-guished university in which to learn and to set you on a path toward a wonderful life. Take advantage of all that is offered to you and enjoy every moment you are a student. Our greatest ambi-tion is to help you be a success.

Sincerely yours,William G. Cale, PresidentUniversity of North Alabama

Page 7SOAR Edition, 2011 • The Flor-Ala Letters

On behalf of the students at

UNA, I would like to extend a warm welcome to you as you be-gin your transition into college life. UNA is a great place to begin or transition for a college career, and offers a lot of things to do out-side the classroom.

The Student Government As-sociation is the offi cial student representative to the university administration and serves a three-fold purpose.

First, the SGA serves as the voice and governing body of the students by providing services and making recommendations to the university administration.

SGA also exists to protect and promote the educational, cultural, economic and social

advancement of all UNA students.

Lastly, the SGA strives to provide a forum in which student interests and needs are both expressed and valued.

The SGA is made up of fi ve branches that work with cohesion to bring about different services to UNA students. These branches are the executive branch, legisla-tive branch (senate), program-ming branch (University Program Council), judicial branch and Freshman Forum branch.

So, if you are interested in representing your fellow students by becoming a senator, or you have programming ideas that you think would benefi t UNA students by becoming a UPC delegate, or adjudicating on issues that arise within SGA by becoming a judi-

cial member, or becoming a voice for the freshmen class through Freshman Forum, then the SGA is the place for you.

The SGA offi ces are located in the Guillot University Center, and are always open to students to come and interact with any of the current members.

I encourage you to get in-volved as much as you can be-cause this university offers the best opportunity to initiate ideas for the betterment of UNA stu-dents. Once more, SGA and UNA students welcome you and wish you well as you embark on this great journey.

Sincerely, Uchenna “Ralph” Akalonu SGA President

SGA president hopes for more student involvement

Uchenna “Ralph” Akalonu

UNA President Dr. William Cale

Welcome to UNA,

I am extremely proud to be part of such a progressive univer-sity and campus law enforcement agency and would like to tell you a little more about the police de-partment.

Your university police de-partment is a full-service law enforcement agency established to provide the highest degree of safety and security possible for

the UNA community. We only employ Alabama-

certifi ed law enforcement of-fi cers that, in turn, provide 24-hour patrol and protection of campus and local assets while also enforcing all laws and or-dinances.

Starting in the fall of 2011, the university police department will be moved to a more central-ly located area on campus, the basement of Keller Hall.

We are now offering ad-ditional new services with the UNA buses that are available to the entire campus.

University buses run be-tween the campus and down-

town areas to offer more dining and shopping options for the campus community. Buses run daily from the Harrison Plaza stop to downtown areas and the parking garage.

This service allows for mul-tiple lunchtime options and an easy way to get off campus to en-joy the historical downtown area of Florence.

Take some time between classes, lunch breaks or to just

clear your head and take in all that historic Florence has to offer.

Other buses run on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 8 p.m. until 2 a.m., providing transportation to the downtown Florence area and Seven Points where you can take advantage of the many shopping, dining and entertainment options available.

We are committed to the pre-vention of crime and the protec-tion of life and property here at UNA.

Like many municipal, county, and state law enforcement agen-cies, we have a Criminal Inves-tigations Division dedicated to investigating crimes occurring on our campus, a Bicycle Pa-trol Team, Emergency Response Team and specialized units re-sponsible for duties unique to the campus environment.

Every member of the UNA community should be familiar with, and take advantage of, the UNA police department and the services we offer.

Protect yourself by becoming informed and using good judg-ment. Take the fi rst step toward

this by familiarizing yourself with safety procedures and ser-vices provided by the university police department.

UNA police offi cers are com-mitted to providing personal and property safety information and programs designed to help make your educational, living and working experience at UNA as enjoyable and crime-free as pos-sible.

You can contact the UNA Police Department at 256-765-4357 and check out our website at www.una.edu/police.

Personal safety starts with you! Remember: Always use good sense, lock your doors and close your windows when you are out.

Also, do not hesitate to con-tact campus police if you need help or more information about our services. For answers to any questions you may have regard-ing UNA police, please e-mail me at [email protected].

Bob PastulaUNA Police Department

Cale offers advice about freshman collegiate successEXECUTIVE EDITOR Lucy BerryNEWS/MANAGING EDITOR Josh SkaggsLIFE EDITOR Andy ThigpenSPORTS EDITOR Tommy BoltonCOPY EDITOR Alex LindleyWEBMASTER Jordan BradleyADVERTISING MANAGER Devin KennamerGRAPHIC ARTIST Savannah Comer CIRCULATION MANAGER Evan KingCHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Malisa McClureSTAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Kayla Sloan Barry Minor Darrick Dawkins Phillip HolcombeADVISER Rebecca Walker

UNA Box 5300Florence, AL 35632(256) 765-4364

Want to advertise in The Flor-Ala? 256.765.4427 256.765.4426

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256.765.4364

Student Newspaper of the University of North Alabama

Copyright © 2011The Flor-AlaAll rights reserved.First copy free.Additional copies $1 each.

Disclaimer: The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the administration,faculty, staff or students of the University of North Alabama.

Contact informationE-mail: [email protected]: 256.765.4364Fax: 256.765.5099Advertising: 256.765.4427

Police move to central location, strive to protect students

UNA police Chief Bob Pastula

For breaking news and updates at UNA, check out fl orala.net!


Beginning this fall, UNA will provide online self-assessments to incoming freshmen to help the university better educate students about the effects of drinking alco-hol.

The university recently pur-chased AlcoholEdu, an online al-cohol prevention program designed specifi cally for college students by Outside the Classroom, a national organization that has reached more than 2 million young people.

UNA will administer the assess-ments to each incoming freshmen class via UNA Portal over a four-year span to learn more about atti-tudes and behaviors toward alcohol consumption in students.

Freshmen students and their parents will initially receive a letter from UNA President Dr. William Cale about the new self-assess-ments and the university’s efforts to educate students about alcohol.

Students will take the fi rst part of the comprehensive self-assess-ments before they begin their fi rst semester.

After 3-5 weeks, they will take a second follow-up assessment re-fl ecting on their experiences with alcohol since coming to campus.

Dr. Kim Greenway, director of Student Conduct, Planning and As-sessment, expects the educational

efforts based on the data from the self-assessments will benefi t UNA students and may cut down on al-cohol-related arrests, misconduct, poor academic performance and more.

“It will give us a true picture of alcohol use on campus and the perceptions that are out there,” she said. “We will be able to use that data as an educational tool to know

how to better reach our students.”Forty-six percent of college

students believe drinking alcohol is a major part of the social lives of other college students and that more than 50 percent of students think the social atmosphere on their college campuses promote alcohol use, according to 2005 data from the CORE Institute Regional Pro-fi les of College Student Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Use in Col-leges in the Southeast Region.

UNA Counseling Services cur-rently offers two self-assessments

on its website, including e-CHUG, focused on alcohol, and e-TOKE, focused on marijuana. Each of these assessments are taken anon-ymously and offer personalized feedback.

“A lot of incoming freshmen believe it’s a right of passage for college students to use alcohol,” said Lynne Martin, associate direc-tor of UNA Counseling and Dis-

ability Services. “To prevent alcohol use in

college students is an unrealistic goal. We already have a variety of educational efforts with them. We want everyone to have the infor-mation they need to better equip themselves in their decisions re-lated to alcohol use. General data continues to tell us that alcohol use remains the number one im-pediment to academic perfor-mance among college students,”

she added.UNA police Chief Bob Pastula

believes the assessments will be ef-fective in reaching students earlier in their college careers by teaching them the hazards of drinking alco-hol and how it can affect their lives and academic pursuits.

Freshmen will not have to pay for or receive college credit by tak-ing the self-assessments.

For more information about the assessments, contact Greenway at 256-765-5012 or e-mail [email protected].

UNA to monitor alcohol use in freshmen


Students at UNA are being asked to fi ll out self-assessments that measure alcohol use in freshmen to determine what programs the university can implement to help students.

“A lot of incoming fresh-men believe itʼs a right of passage for college

students to use alcohol.” -Lynne Martin

director of counseling



Treasurer expects tuition to rise exponentially

According to the Alabama State Treasurer’s offi ce, tuition for 135 hours of college credit will cost stu-dents approximately $80,000 at a four-year institution by 2022. Cur-rently, Alabama students pay ap-proximately $35,000 for a four-year degree.

UNA is not an exception in the recent tuition increases. UNA’s tu-ition for the 2009-10 academic year was $167 per credit hour, and for the 2010-11 academic year tuition was $185 per credit hour.

UNA provides students with fi -nancial assistance through Student Financial Services. The department provides students with fi nancial aid and guidance during their stay at UNA.

“We are here to help you,” said Shauna James, scholarship manager with Student Financial Services.

Many students believe they cannot get fi nancial aid, James ex-plained.

“Everyone can get loan mon-ey; it doesn’t matter who you are,” James said.

James recommended talking to community organizations students are typically involved in, as these organizations typically have scholar-ship funds and look for students to give this funding to.

“There is money out there,” James added. “You have to be will-ing to sit down and do it.”

According to James, the number one thing students forget to do is fi ll out the federal application for stu-dent aid, or FAFSA, before getting to school. She urged students to fi ll out their FAFSA as soon as possible to ensure they get aid for the fall.

“You really have to budget your money,” James said. “Be patient and get out there and take advantage of all the money you can get. Take ad-

vantage of the resources that are out there.”

But to take advantage of the re-sources available, the student has to be reachable.

“Always keep a check on your UNAPortal account,” James stressed. She said students forget to check their e-mail and miss dead-lines and important announcements regarding their fi nancial aid status, scholarships, grants or loans.

James said money is not going to be handed to students. She said getting a scholarship or grant is not easy work.

“You have to be patient as far as scholarships go,” James said.

James recommended students take advantage of on-campus em-ployment. She said students can take advantage of working on campus and the fl exibility that on-campus jobs allow students.

Students like UNA junior Steph-anie Nix worry the tuition hike will increase the need to get outside fi -nancial aid, such as student loans. Nix said she has used student loans for every semester of her college ca-reer.

Nix currently attends UNA on a federal Pell grant, paying just a por-tion of what her overall tuition costs.

“[I have to get student loans] because the Pell grant doesn’t cover everything,” Nix added. “Even for the two classes I am taking this sum-mer I still have to pay $177.”

“I just wonder what is going to make the tuition go up so,” Nix said. “I suppose infl ation over the next 20 years would do it, but if tuition goes up, and it is because of infl ation, then everything else would raise in price, and minimum wage would go up to.

“I was one of those students who didn’t think they could afford college, but there are scholarships, grants and loans out there that can help.” Nix explained. “You just have to be willing to work at school; most of those things depend on grades.”

photo illustration by Morguefile.com

-The FAFSA determines a student’s eligibility for federal Pell grants, student loans and student employment (work-study). Every student is eligible for some type of fi nancial aid.

-Applying for federal fi nancial aid is easy! Fill out the on-line Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.gov.

-Both students and parents will need PIN numbers in order to complete the FAFSA. To apply for a PIN, visit www.pin.ed.gov.

-Submit the FAFSA before June 1, 2011 to ensure timely processing of fi nancial aid for the upcoming year. If the FAF-SA is not fi led by this date, be sure to fi le it as soon as possi-ble. Failure to submit by this date may cause a delay in receiv-ing federal fi nancial aid funds.

-Indicate the University of North Alabama as a recipient of your FAFSA application. UNA’s federal school code is 001016.

-For information about the monthly payment plan (TMS) and Alabama PACT, please contact Student Accounts for more information at 256-765-4442.

-Student Financial Services will notify students of their FAFSA status and unsatisfi ed requirements via UNA Portal e-mail and self-service. Make sure to check this often for up-dates from us.

tuition tips from student financial services

Visit us atfl orala.net

for up-to-date

campus news!

Emily Patterson, who works in the cir-culation department in Collier Library at UNA, felt terrorized by the devastating April 27 tornado that destroyed the home she shared with her family in Phil Camp-bell.

Though tornado sirens had been going off since early morning and her children were sent home from school, Patterson said her family was not the type to jump into a storm shelter every time there was a threat of severe weather.

After Patterson’s brother-in-law, Joel, heard an unusual noise and walked outside to check it out, he quickly began shouting for everyone to seek shelter as the tornado was coming their way. Patterson described the sound like a loud roar as her home was thrown 10 feet by the cyclone.

“The look of terror on Joel’s face had us all moving quickly to our small bathroom,” she said. “The fi ve of us plus Joel’s big dog were crammed into that little bathroom holding on and praying. No sooner had [my husband] gotten the bathroom door shut that it hit.”

Patterson, like hundreds of Alabamians across the state who were impacted by the storms, is now sifting through debris and salvaging her family’s belongings that lay

amid the rubble of her former home. David Shields, vice president of stu-

dent affairs, reported that 42 UNA students have been affected by the April 27 storms, with one who lost a parent, several who lost

homes and many who have gone without electricity for an extended period of time.

“We want to get a sense of what students were affected,” he said. “[Helping students] is the right thing for the university to do.”

Since the storms, numerous UNA stu-dents, faculty and staff have united to help tornado victims in Phil Campbell, Hackle-burg, Tuscaloosa, Madison and across the state.

Students Forrest Harlan and Summer

Akers traveled to Phil Campbell shortly af-ter the storms to assist with relief efforts.

Harlan and Akers helped to fi x livestock fences, clean up debris and donate clothing in one of the most heavily damaged areas in

Alabama. Harlan hopes more students will see the long-term effects of the disaster and continue to volunteer in the future.

“People see a disaster like this, and they help out for a month and then forget about it,” Harlan said. “They don’t realize that some of these people still won’t have houses a year from now.”

UNA recently launched the Caring for the Pride fundraising campaign, which is designed to assist current/future students,

faculty and staff who have been impacted by the storms.

The university is offering fi nancial re-sources to those affected so their college education is not interrupted.

“We are hoping to raise as much as we can to help individuals who may not be starting college or returning this fall because their parents lost their jobs in the storms and or they have to go to work them-selves,” said Josh Woods, UNA spokes-man. “They have lost so much already and we don’t want their college education lost because of what happened.”

Gov. Robert Bentley, who visited UNA last fall during the gubernatorial debate with Ron Sparks, toured the storm damage and destruction in Dekalb County May 1 and remarked on the state citizens’ ability to cope with the disaster.

“The people of Alabama love each other and we take care of each other,” he said. “We’re going to get through it, and we’re going to do it together.”

For tornado assistance at UNA, contact the Offi ce of Student Affairs at 256-765-4248. To donate to the Caring for the Pride campaign, visit www.una.edu/disaster-re-lief.

Visit www.fl orala.net to view photo al-bums and videos taken after the storm.

News Editor Josh Skaggs, Copy Editor Alex Lindley and Ad Manager Devin Ken-namer contributed to this report.

Page 11SOAR Edition, 2011 • The Flor-Ala FeatureTornadoes wreak havoc on UNA family

A large tree fell on the GUC at UNA April 27. UNA’s Sigma Chi delivers supplies April 29. Workers repair power lines on Circular Drive

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Student photographer Evan Whisenant shot photos of a Hackleburg elementary school and Wrangler plant (above) after the tornadoes.

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University steps in to provide financial assistance to victims

graphic courtesy of Office of University Communications

Page 12 SOAR Edition, 2011 • The Flor-Ala

Division I could impact athletics for years to come Page 37SOAR Edition, 2011 • The Flor-Ala Sports

Over the summer the UNA Board of Trustees will come to a decision on the move to Division I athletics.

The decision is important for athletics because the Gulf South Conference will lose six of its members: Arkansas Tech, Arkansas-Monticello, Harding, Henderson State, Ouachita Baptist and Southern Ar-kansas, which could create scheduling dif-fi culties for UNA athletics.

“The earliest that a decision could pos-sibly be made would be at the board’s June 13 board meeting,” said Josh Woods, direc-tor of UNA communications. “However, whether the decision is made then will then depend on the outcome of the May 20 re-treat and the progress made on the strategic plan being developed for a potential move to Division I.”

“It is important to repopulate the con-ference,” said UNA Athletics Director Mark Linder. “The reason you belong to a conference is for scheduling purposes and for championships. That’s the main reason why you affi liate with conferences, so you don’t have to go out and schedule all of your intercollegiate athletic programs as an independent.”

The other option is to go Division I. If UNA makes the move, the football team

will join the Football Championship Sub-division (FCS), while the other sports will simply be Division I

UNA will have to receive an offi cial in-vite from a Division I conference in order to join. The school will also have to pay an application fee of $1.3 to $1.4 million at the beginning of the process.

The two Division I conferences closest to UNA are the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and the Sun Belt Conference. The OVC is in the FCS while the Sun Belt is in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

UNA would also have to add two new sports to the program if the move up is made.

“There are two or three sports we’re looking at,” said Linder. “Women’s golf I think would be popular in this area. I think we should probably take a look at women’s bowling. it’s an emerging sport. It would be in our best interest to add two women’s sports for Title IX reasons. We need to make sure we are addressing the needs of the underrepresented gender.”

The school would then have to increase its athletic budget in order to be competi-tive in the division. The current sporting fa-cilities are good enough to make the switch, but some improvements may be needed.

“Every facility we have now is good for Division II, so it could function as a Divi-sion I facility,” said Linder. “Whether we stay Division II or go Division I we need to improve our facilities.

“The tennis courts, we need to improve them. We need to get a soccer locker room. We need to expand our weight room. As far as the number of seats for spectators, we won’t have to add,” Linder added.

UNA would also have to meet the regu-lations of the Academic Performance Rate (APR). APR is a performance test on Di-vision I schools which rates the graduation rate of student athletes at the school.

If any school in question does not have a graduation rate of 50 percent or above, the school will be penalized.

UNA athletic teams on verge of making major adjustments if D-I move is made

photo by Malisa McClurephoto by Malisa McClure

photo by Ashton Lance photo by Malisa McClure

YOU ARE OUT — UNA junior infi elder Michael Schmidt prepares to tag a runner out during a UNA Baseball game earlier this spring.

HARD-NOSE DEFENSE — UNA junior center Sam Buxton tries to keep the other team from getting inside the paint during a UNA basketball game earlier this spring.

KICK IT AWAY — UNA sophomore forward Chloe Roberts prepares to make a crossing pass to a teammate inside the box in a UNA soccer match last fall.

PASSING THE ROCK — UNA sophomore guard Sarah Bailey makes a pass to a wide-open teammate during a UNA women’s basketball game earlier this spring.

photo by Susan King

GET OUT OF MY WAY — UNA junior running back Wes Holland runs over a defender during a UNA football game last fall.

Page 38

The UNA board of trustees reviewed a fi nancial plan May 20 that proposes a six-year transition into NCAA Division I. The plan was presented by Johnny Williams of Cre-ative Marketing Management, which has worked with the UNA athletics and advancement offi ces since March to develop the plan.

“This is a comprehensive fi nancial plan that provides a chronological guide for new dollars that must be raised to support a Division I athletics program. It also offers ideas for en-hancing the UNA athletic experience regardless of the direction we take in the future,” said Dr. William G. Cale Jr., UNA President. “Assessing this plan in the overall context of what is best for the future of UNA is the issue now before the trustees.”

“Over the next two to three weeks, members of the board of trust-ees will examine this plan in detail to determine whether this transition best fi ts not only the athletics depart-ment but the overall vision of the university in the coming years,” said Steve Pierce, UNA board president pro tempore. “We will look at each aspect of the revenue and expenses to make sure that the athletics department will have the proper resources to be competitive and ensure that the academic and student life divisions of the university will also benefi t from this transition. After reviewing the

details of the plan, the board will also determine whether the plan needs to be modifi ed or adjusted prior to the June

board meeting.”The proposed six-year athletics funding

plan presented today points out that an in-vitation from an NCAA Division I confer-ence is a requirement to enter Division I, as is payment of a $1.4 million application fee to the NCAA. A cap on institutional

support for athletics operating budgets to protect funding for academic program-ming and student life is recommended.

If UNA transitions into Division I over a six-year period, the plan recommends a sequence for increases in funding for new athletic scholarships, operational expenses, salaries and salary adjustments.

The increases in athletics funding would come through several sources, in-

cluding an additional $500,000 per year in donor giving to the athletics program.

“Increased donor support is critical to this transition. A successful move to Division I will hinge on external support at a heightened level throughout the entire transi-tion and following,” said Mark Linder, UNA athletics director.

The funding plan calls for new private donations as well as new corporate donations, game guarantees, increased ticket sales, academic and enhance-ment funds from the NCAA, and a student athletics fee. New funding through each of these sources would be ramped over a six-year period, according to the following plan:

New private donations – $500,000 each year. New corpo-rate donations – From $50,000 in year two to $200,000 in year six. Secure game guarantees – From $100,000 in year two to $850,000 in year six. Increased ticket sales – From $50,000 in year two to $200,000 in year six

NCAA academic and en-hancement funds – Receive

$59,000 in years two-fi ve, increas-ing to $400,000 in year six

Student athletics fee – Increase from $24 per year to $109 in year one, generat-ing about $600,000, to $264 in year four, generating about $1,318,000

photo by Shannon Wells

Trustee Libby Jordan, UNA President Dr. William Cale and President Pro Tempore Steve Pierce discuss the Division I decision during the March Board of Trustees meeting.

Board reviews financial plan for D-I universitySports

Page 39SOAR Edition, 2011 • The Flor-Ala Sports2010-2011 Lions sports recap through pictures

photo by Malisa McClurephoto courtesy of UNA photographer Shannon Wellsphoto courtesy of UNA photographer Shannon Wells

photo by Ashton Lance

photo by Susan King photo by Susan King



photo by Susan King

photo courtesy of UNA photographer Shannon Wells

photo courtesy of UNA photographer Shannon Wells

ROAR LIONS — (middle) A UNA cheerleader runs a fl ag across the fi eld at Braly Stadium. (top left) Sophomore T.J Drake prepares to return the ball. (top middle) Jessica Keehn warms up before a match. (top right) Junior guard Beaumont Bea-sley defends against a UWA player. (left middle top) Junior Natalie Marsh prepares for a spike. (left middle bottom) Junior Jessi Smith dribbles towards the basket. (right middle top) Sophomore Chloe Roberts runs towards the opponent’s goal. (right middle bottom) Junior Hirbo Hirbo runs at a cross country meet. (bottom left) Sophomore Kathryn Young catches a pitch against Indianapolis. (bottom middle) Freshman Ricky Stimets tees off at a golf tournament. (bottom right) UNA junior catcher Dale Ricketts stands on third base awaiting the next pitch.

The Student Recreation Center offers a variety of opportunities for students, in-cluding team building, muscle building and employment.

“There’s so much to do once you’re here,” SRC Fitness Coordinator Glenda Richey said.

She said the best way to get motivated is to take one step into the SRC.

Students who have paid the recreation facility fee and present a Mane card are able to participate in group exercises, intra-mural sports, outdoor adventure trips and access to workout equipment.

Group exercise classes are free and are taught by UNA students.

UNA junior Lauren Howard said she at-tended both cycling and triple threat classes in the spring. She said both teachers were motivating and made the class fun.

“They made me actually enjoy exercis-ing,” Howard said.

The SRC also provides free personal student trainers. To sign up to work with a trainer, students must contact Richey.

The trainers understand the pressures of schoolwork and are fl exible when schedul-ing.

“I make sure I have all times available from early morning to late at night,” Richey said.

Richey encourages students to consider pairing up with a friend when requesting a trainer. She said it will increase the stu-dent’s motivation to get fi t.

The weight room is located on the fi rst

fl oor of the building. In the spring the SRC host-ed its fi rst bench press competition in which 12 students participated.

The contest showed the competitors’ strength while providing a moti-vational atmosphere for everyone involved.

Richey said the SRC plans to have more fun competitions throughout the year.

The intramural sports program offers several sports, such as volleyball, fl ag football and basketball.

The games are ref-ereed by students and allow the participants to meet new people.

The leagues are bro-ken down into competi-tive men’s, recreational men’s, recreational women’s and some offer co-recreational.

The teams have the opportunity to play in the fi nal round of competition and to win the championship for their sport.

The outdoor adventure program allows students to take hiking, rock climbing and camping trips.

The trips help with team bonding and allow students to experience nature in a dif-ferent way.

Rappelling is another aspect of the pro-

gram that takes place multiple times a se-mester.

The tower used is located behind Kilby School on Pine Street.

The SRC is the largest student employer on campus. Jobs range from group exercise instructor to facility monitor.

Open while classes are in session, the rSRC hosts a portion of the SOAR process

during the summer. “I hope the students see our enthusiasm

towards working out,” Richey said. She wants the students to look at the SRC as a fun stress reliever.

For more information on personal train-ers or student employment, contact Richey at [email protected].

Page 40 Sports SOAR Edition, 2011 • The Flor-Ala

SRC plays vital role in student fitness, training

photo by Barry Minor

WORK IT OUT — The Student Recreation Center offers treadmills and bicycles to students who are will-ing to get in shape and avoid that freshman 15.

Page 41SOAR Edition, 2011 • The Flor-Ala SportsStudents can sit on visitors’ side stands at Braly Stadium

In Braly Stadium, the section for UNA students to sit during home football games is currently on the visitors’ side of the sta-dium, and thanks to positive student feed-back, will most likely stay that way, accord-ing to Athletic Director Mark Linder.

The change of seating for students fi rst occurred last year during the home game against visiting Delta State, which was to be televised.

According to 2010-2011 SGA Presi-dent Cory Hamilton, Linder approached the SGA to see if they and the student body would be willing to sit on the visitors’ side, and they agreed to sit there for the game.

“We wanted the stadium to have a big showing for the camera angles to catch Braly stadium full of fans on both sides,” said Linder.

Linder received mostly positive feed-back about the experiment, so the athletic department and the SGA decided that for this season the student section would stay on the visitors’ side.

“I’ve heard mostly positive feedback from students, but there is some negative feedback,” said Hamilton.

Hamilton said that many students like sitting on the visitors’ side because they get closer to players and they can cause more noise for the Lions.

The players also enjoy having friendly noise coming from both sides of the fi eld, according to Linder.

Much of the negative feedback comes from the fact that students have a harder time seeing halftime shows.

Students that would rather not sit in the visitors’ section have other options, accord-ing to Linder.

If they are uncomfortable about sitting on the opposite side of the fi eld, students can visit the UNA ticket booth at Flow-ers Hall and ask to be given seating on the home side of the fi eld.

Linder also said that the halftime shows

for UNA would try to incorporate the visi-tors’ section students as best as possible in the near future.

Of special interest is the half time that will occur during next year’s homecoming and how fans of both sides of the fi eld can be used to improve it.

“We want to do the best job possible for the student body,” said Linder about any

other possible changes to seating. As for the foreseeable future of the seat-

ing, both Linder and Hamilton feel that, if positive student feedback continues for the visitors’ side seating, students can expect to keep sitting there in the near future.

With more seating added to UNA fans, the stadium may be a big advantage for the Lions.


LET’S GET ROWDY — UNA students cheer on the Lions during a home football game last fall. Students can now sit on the away side. With more UNA fans being able sit on the away side, the stadium will be as full as ever.

In the past year, scandals have hit the sports world in a variety of ways that have changed what sports are about.

Scandals are part of sports more than ever, from the Tiger Woods family situation, to the pay-for-play scheme to the point shaving incident during San Diego University basketball games.

All of these have shaped the way we look at sports and have made sports even more competitive than ever.

“The pay-for-play scheme is very interesting,” said UNA sophomore Christopher Reece. “Some people be-lieve it isn’t completely bad because they are trying to get it legalized, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Compared to the Tiger Woods situation in relation to moral values, it isn’t nearly as bad,” Reece added.

The pay-for-play scheme of Auburn quarterback, Cam Newton, has been a huge controversy between Alabama and Auburn fans. Cecil Newton allegedly shopped his son to play college football last fall. No word or decision has been made on the case, but eyebrows have been raised.

Cam Newton was drafted fi rst overall in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers this past month and looks to be the new face of the franchise for the Panthers.

A more recent scandal has even cost one of the best college basketball coaches in the Southeastern Conference his job.

Former University of Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl admitted to violations that he lied about a photo that was taken of him and two recruits at Pearl’s home.

After admitting the violations, he coached the rest of the season with no contract and was sus-pended for eight SEC basketball games.

Once the season was completed Pearl was soon fi red due to all of the infractions committed on the university, which left him unemployed.

“The cumulative effect of the evolution of the investigation combined with a number of more re-cent non-N.C.A.A.-related incidents have led to a belief that this staff cannot be viable at Tennessee in the future,” said Athletic Director Mike Hamil-ton, in a statement released by UT.

“Therefore, it is in the best interests of our in-stitution to move in a different direction.”

Scandals and allegations are now part of sports. Coaches all across the country feel the pressure from fans and alumni about winning, making their jobs that much harder to keep without doing some-thing against NCAA regulations.

“There are people out there that will do what it takes to keep their job, meaning they will do these things to keep a winning record,” said Reece. “It may happen more than we realize it, but since they are more popular, it comes out more.”


Braly Stadium is key part in Lions football traditionSOAR Edition, 2011 • The Flor-Ala

At the corner of Royal Avenue and Hermitage Drive in Florence lies Braly Municipal Stadium, the site of the UNA Lions’ and Florence High School Falcons’ home football games.

The stadium, now almost 70 years old, will host its 24th straight National Col-legiate Athletic Association Division II football National Championship Game this December.

The fi eld began hold-ing the playoff series back in 1986 and has been the sole host ever since, with the contract for exclusive housing of the game reaching to 2013.

Braly Stadium has also been the venue for 28 of UNA’s NCAA Divi-sion II playoff appear-ances, including three straight National Cham-pionship victories from 1993 to 1995.

The Lions football team has gone 220-105-8 in their 59 seasons on the fi eld. The Lions also have more wins than any other football program in the state of Alabama since 1990, with six NCAA Regional Championships, fi ve Gulf South Conference Championships and three National Championships.

Braly Municipal Stadium started its life as Coffee Stadium in the 1940s when it served as the playing fi eld for Coffee High School athletics.

Coffee High School was located in the Appleby building complex that still stands today on the UNA campus. Thomas Braly, Jr. was the principal at the high school and also a coach. His infl uence was instrumen-tal in the building of a larger school and football stadium for the institution’s use.

Coffee High School and Bradshaw High School merged in 2004 and was collec-tively renamed Florence High School.

The larger building that Braly worked to build is now Florence

Middle School. He worked for Coffee High School .from 1945 until his life was cut short by a sud-den heart attack in 1963.

The Florence City Board of Educa-tion decided to rename the stadium Tom Braly Municipal Stadium in honor of the beloved educator, but people who live in Florence and UNA students usually refer to it simply as “Braly Stadium.”

“I think [Braly Stadium] is a really great stadium for a Division II school like North Alabama,” said UNA student Evan Underwood. “It has a cozy atmosphere, but it can get really rowdy during the games.

“There is a reason they play the Divi-

sion II Championship Game there. It feels like home as far as UNA football. I’ve been to Jordan-Hare and I’ve been to Bryant-Denny and the only major differ-ence is the capacity but the feeling’s the same.”

The complex that Braly helped build has seen much in the way of change since its construction in the 1940s. The stadium was renovated in 1980 to add 5,000 seats and again in 1998 to add another 1,200 seats.

The complex will now seat 14,215 fans. The fi eld had a grass playing surface until last summer when it was upgraded to artifi cial turf.

“Braly Stadium is a place to show off what people have worked for during the week, especially the band,” said UNA band member Kevin Smart. “The band has worked a lot during the week and [game day] is where we can actually put it all on the fi eld and show the crowd what we can do.”

“I think [Braly Stadium] is a great place to watch the Lions play football,” said UNA student Jared Hubbard. “The UNA fans give the stadium a good home-feel. When the team is winning you can feel the fans -- how excited they are for their team.”

photo by Warren Bailey

HOME COOKING — Braly Stadium has been home to the UNA football team for 59 seasons with crowds fi lling the stands to make it as rowdy as possible.

”I think Braly Stadium is a really great stadium for Division II.”

-Evan Underwood

Scandals grow in number in sports world

TIGER ON THE PROWL — Tiger Woods looks to rebound from recent failures on the golf course due in large part to his recent divorce with his wife, Elin Nordegren. Woods is on his larg-est drought of his career due to the recent scandal.

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The UNA baseball team came home empty handed in the Gulf South Tourna-ment that was held May 6-9 as the team was eliminated in three games in Milling-ton, Tenn.

It was the fi rst live action for the Lions in more than two weeks due to the recent tornado outbreak across North Alabama, which caused cancellation of the fi nal two regular season games.

The Lions were able to defeat Delta

State in game one 10-5, but fell the next two games to Harding 5-2, and 4-3 in the 11th inning to Arkansas Tech, giving the Lions an overall record of 35-12

“In the Delta State game, our bats were really good and it didn’t look like the lay-off hurt us that much,” said Mike Keehn, head baseball coach. “In the next two games, we just could not make the adjust-ments offensively to score some runs.”

“Offensively we were just not able to put up the runs like we were used to doing all season, and looking at the two losses, their pitching was much better than our batting,” Keehn said.

In game one, the Lions showed the break did not affect them, as the team got on the board in the second inning giving them a 3-0 lead. J.P LaMunyon singled and Dale Ricketts walked to start the threat.

Then, Jared Mothershed got a bunt single and an errant throw scored LaMunyon.

Nick McGregor grounded out to the right side to plate Ricketts, and a base hit by Michael Schmidt drove in Mothershed. The lead did not last long as the States-men took the lead in the third, scoring four runs.

The game was later tied going in the seventh inning with a score of 5-5.

A solo home run by Josh Cyr in the seventh inning gave the Lions the lead for good and Jake Sloan added insurance runs with a three-run double, ending the game at 10-5.

Trey Mitchell (11-2) got the win scat-tering fi ve runs on 11 hits, striking out three in 8 1/3 innings of work.

In game two, the Lions ten-game win-ning streak came to an end as the team fell to Harding 5-2 with the offense getting shut down with only fi ve hits total.

The Lions started the game off strong

scoring two runs in the fi rst inning off of a two-run double delivered by Sloan, but Harding starter Lucas Waddell would not allow another run the rest of the game, picking up his second complete game against the Lions this season.

UNA starter Chad Boughner (8-2) took

the loss, allowing fi ve runs on six hits, striking out two in six innings of work.

In game three, the Lions took the game to extra innings before Arkansas Tech drove in the winning run in the 11th inning, ending the Lions stay in the GSC tournament.

The Lions got a strong pitching per-formance from starter Johnny Hornbuckle (7-3), allowing three runs with nine strike outs through eight innings, but the offense

Even though the Lions went home early, the selection committee picked them for a regional bid in the NCAA tourney. The Lions ranked second in the regional

poll, which was released before the GSC tournament.

The baseball team could not hold a 5-1 lead against Barry May 22 as the Buc-caneers rallied for a 10-5 victory in the semi-fi nal round of the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament in Pensacola, Fla. With the loss, UNA ends its season with a 37-14 record.

SWING AWAY —UNA infi elder Michael Schmidt prepares to swing at an incoming pitch during a baseball game this spring.


Flowers Hall is home to team basketball, volleyballPage 44 Sports SOAR Edition, 2011 • The Flor-Ala

Flowers Hall is home to the women’s volleyball, basketball and men’s basketball teams at UNA.

The home of the UNA sports teams had a lot of success this year with a combined record of 29-9 home record by the three teams and in helping the women’s volley-ball team and women’s basketball reach the NCAA tournament.

Both teams were defeated early in the NCAA tournament.

The men’s basketball team made the conference tournament due to its huge home court advantage and home record of 9-4.

This record between the three makes Flowers Hall one of the hardest places to play at in the Gulf South Conference due to its winning success and great atmosphere.

“While playing at Flowers Hall, we get a lot of fan support from the students, which makes it a very fun place to play at,” said UNA junior basketball player Sam Buxton. “ It is without a doubt one of the best gyms in the conference.”

Flowers Hall can hold 4,000 scream-ing fans, and since the 1978-79 season the women’s basketball team has an impressive 67 percent winning percentage and the men has also made their names in the conference with a stellar 76 percent winning percent-age, making Flowers Hall an unpleasant

place for visiting teams.

Since opening its doors in 1972, NCAA women’s volleyball has come to UNA in tournament games along with confer-ence tournaments, where UNA has won the confer-ence tournament two times since 1998.

Flowers Hall has also become a regular host of Al-abama/Mississippi All-Star men’s basketball games on odd years since 1991 and also has hosted NBA games.

The fi rst ever basketball game played at UNA as the Boston Celt-ics took on the At-lanta Hawks in an exhibition game, which makes Flowers Hall a well-known destination for incoming recruits and fans all across the area.

“Flowers Hall is my favorite place to

play in the conference,” said UNA junior basketball player Beaumont Beasley. “We have very good fan support every night and I love how the rims are here.”

Flowers Hall has been a well-known

home for Lion athletes and spectators, making it a must see for incoming students who want to experience the sports UNA has to offer.

photo by Warren Baily

HOME SWEET HOME — Flowers Hall has been home to UNA basketball and volleyball since 1972 and has been a big part of the team’s success as fans fi ll the arena to cheer on the Lions.

Baseball team ends season with 10-5 loss to Barry

”Offensively we were just not able to put up runs like we were

used to doing all season, and looking at the two losses, their

pitching was much better than our batting.”

-Coach Mike Keehn


It is never too early to talk about the up-coming college football season and the stars who rise on the scene.

The Southeastern Conference has been one of the most powerful conferences in football for the last 10 years. The national champions have come from the same con-ference for the last fi ve years and also have produced the last two Heisman trophy win-ners, Mark Ingram and Cam Newton. So, this year in the SEC, could it be a repeat occurrence in talent level.

A surging Tennessee quarterback, Ty-ler Bray, fi nished the season passing for 1,849 yards, 18 touchdowns and 10 inter-ceptions. Bray carried the young Volunteers to a bowl game under fi rst-year head coach Derrick Dooley. After an impressing four-touchdown game in the Music City bowl against North Carolina, chances that Tyler Bray could be a star rising.

“He needs to improve his decision mak-ing and put on more weight,” said UNA stu-dent and huge Tennessee fan, Julian Threet.

The question for the defending champi-

on Auburn Tigers is who is going to be the next star to take over where Cam Newton left off? Michael Dyer, running back for the Tigers, had a huge game in the national championship game, recording 143 yards rushing and also passing the great Bo Jack-son in most yards for a freshman at Auburn, with 1,093 yards rushing.

Alabama running back Trent Richard-son has some huge shoes to fi ll after 2009 Heisman winner Mark Ingram left to enter the draft. Many Alabama fans feel like he is the perfect guy to do it and could possibly be better than Mark Ingram.

As a freshman on the national cham-pionship team, Richardson rushed for 751 yards, and, last season, after battling injury all year, rushed for 12 yards per carry. Rich-ardson could be a huge contributor for the Crimson Tide this season.

The SEC is looking to be wide open with a lot of the traditional powers losing most of their big talents. Remember, it is the SEC, and something surprising always comes out of the conference. This year could be differ-ent if a player as huge as Cam Newton was to Auburn last fall or another Tim Tebow emerges as a national fan favorite.


NFL season in jeopardy because of labor dispute

History often tends to repeat itself. In this case, the NFL is bearing witness to a reoccurrence of the NFL season of 1987.

That season was cut short one game when the members of the National Football League Players Association went on strike. Week three of that year featured no games while Week’s 4-6 were played by replace-ment players hired by the owners of each respective team.

The strike lasted a grand total of 24 days. The NFLPA failed to set up a fund to compensate players for lost wages, so 89 veterans crossed the picket lines during the strike, including Dallas Cowboys defensive end Randy White and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana.

These players went back to work after the team owners threatened to cut player annuities. A lack of union support com-bined with poor fan reaction and replace-ment games ended the strike.

The players fi led an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL and the team owners in 1989 that challenged the legality of free agency.

The lawsuit claimed that free agency was an “unlawful restraint of trade.” This lawsuit and others forced the NFL to create a salary cap with a base salary fl oor and a minimum total pay.

Fast forward to 2011 and the events of 1987 have returned. The NFL and the NFL-PA extended a collective bargaining agree-ment (CBA) that came into existence after a 1993 antitrust lawsuit fi ve times, with the latest extension set to run through the 2011 season.

The NFL team owners voted 30-2 to ex-tend the agreement, but in 2008 the owners opted out of the CBA. This caused the 2010 season to be played without a salary cap.

The NFL and the NFLPA entered into negotiations to extend the CBA but the talks failed to produce a compromise. The players association threatened to begin a strike if an agreement was not reached.

No deal had been struck as of early

March of this year, so on the 11th of last month the NFLPA decertifi ed. This means that a player strike of the 2011 season is very possible.

Former (because of decertifi cation) NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith spoke with Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco at the 2010 NFL Draft. Ochocinco asked Smith what the odds of a lockout were on a scale of one to 10.

“On a scale of one to 10, it’s a 14,” said Smith.

The NFL team owners in turn locked out their players, meaning that no contact could

be made between the players and owners. This also means that no team is allowed

to sign a player, including anyone who is picked up in the 2011 NFL Draft in April.

Another major point of contention be-tween the parties is the possibility of ex-tending the NFL season to 18 games.

This would be accomplished by short-ening the preseason to two games and mak-ing the other two count.

“First of all, the league has never pre-sented a formal proposal for 18 games,” said Smith in an interview with Sports Il-lustrated.

“But more importantly, it’s something

that our players don’t want. Eighteen games are not in the best interest of our players’ safety, so we’re not doing it.”

Fans of the NFL will have to wait and see what happens with the two organiza-tions if they wish to see a 2011 season. Ten NFL players, including New England Patri-ots quarterback Tom Brady and Indianapo-lis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning have fi led an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL.

There appears to be no end of the dis-pute in sight, so fans may have to do with-out in 2011.

photo courtesy of Associated Press

CRITICAL THINKING — NFL Commisioner Roger Goodell (left) and NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith (right) shows concern during a hearing about the labor dispute earlier this spring.

New stars are ready to emerge in SEC play this year

photo courtesy of Associated Press

FOCUS ON THE BALL— Former Alabama wide-out Julio Jones, who will not be in the SEC next year, catches a pass to impress scouts. New stars have to fi ll the void that players like Jones left behind.

Page 47MapSOAR Edition, 2011 • The Flor-Ala

A.

Seven Points

You Are Here

Pine Street

Court StreetSeminary Street

Wood Avenue

Dr. Hicks Boulevard

Tennessee StreetPine Street

Pine Street

Pine Street

Pine Street

To Ghost Bridge

Wood AvenueHermitage Drive

To Wal-Mart, Target, Regency Square Mall

Dr. Hicks Boulevard

Tuscaloosa Street

Tombigbee Street

E. Mobile Street

P

Chisholm Road

TuurrtS

1

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Highway 20

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ADVERTISERS NEAR CAMPUSADVERTISERS NEAR CAMPUS

Pine Street

Edgewood Drive

Woodland RoadGilbert Court

Sherrod Avenue

Gilbert Court

Lelia StreetLelia Street

Mattielou Street

Hawthorne Street

Circular Road

Irvine AvenueLion Drive

Cedar Street

Oakview Circle

*Not drawn to scale

Pine Street

Stewart Avenue

1. Li’l Steve’s2. Security Lock and Key

3. Southern BBQ#2

4. Two Guys Auto and Truck Repair5. Off-Campus Bookstore

6. Angie’s Clip Joint7. Compass Bank

8. The Gourmet Shoppe9. Grassroots Market10. Pegasus Records

11. Gold’s Gym12. Miami Ice

A.

A. Wilson ParkB. Rivertown Coffee Co.C. On the RocksD. Ricatoni’sE. ComcastF. Floreance UtilitiesG. Rosie’sH. FunlandI. Frostbite & Montagu’sJ. Mike D. Lane Baseball FieldK. Braly StadiumL. Appleby Residence HallsM. McDonald’sN. Wok & RollO. RiceboxP. KFCQ. McGraw’s Coffee HouseR. The Route of Art GalleryS. Quizno’s

B.

C.D.

E.

Limestone Street

College Street

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G.

H.

I.

J.K.

Royal Avenue

Nellie Avenue

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P.Cypress Mill Rd.

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R.S.

Historic Downtown Florence and Seven Points

Other notable locations nearby:

To Colbert County

Page 48 SOAR Edition, 2011 • The Flor-Ala

Documents

SOAR Paper Part 1