FLORENCE, Ala. — For the first time ever, the University of North Alabama football program will take the field against storied Southeastern Conference program Auburn, as Monday the two programs announced a future game at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
The game is scheduled for September 9, 2028.
"Aligning a future matchup with an in-state SEC opponent has been a scheduling priority for our football program,” said UNA Director of Athletics Dr. Josh Looney. “This will be an incredible experience for our University, fans and alumni. Our coaching staff is closely connected to the Auburn program. We appreciate athletic director John Cohen and head coach Hugh Freeze for the invitation to visit Jordan-Hare Stadium.”
Barring any new in-state opponents the next four years, Auburn will become the 10th in-state opponent UNA has faced all-time.
Currently, Jordan-Hare Stadium will be the largest venue that North Alabama has visited in the program’s rich history with an 88,043 seating capacity. In 2011, UNA played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, which held 80,000 fans at the time. Last season, the Lions played against No. 4 Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium in front of a sold-out crowd of 79,560 fans.
This will be a special trip for UNA head coach Brent Dearmon, who served as an analyst at Auburn in 2013 and 2014. Auburn was Dearmon’s first collegiate coaching stop following his time as head coach at B.C. Rain High School.
“This is an enormous deal for UNA football,” said Dearmon, who enters his second season at UNA. “We’ll take the visitor spot, not only for an SEC game, but for an in-state SEC power. This will fire up our fans and our players. Most of them grew up Auburn fans or dreamed of playing on such a stage.”
A pair of former Auburn standouts are currently on the North Alabama coaching staff, including linebackers coach Deshaun Davis and Director of Player Development Kerryon Johnson. Davis was a First Team All-SEC selection at linebacker in 2018, while Johnson was First Team All-SEC in 2017. Johnson was also the 2017 SEC Offensive Player of the Year. Both were drafted to the NFL out of Auburn.