2024 North Alabama Lions football team

The 2024 North Alabama Lions football team will represent North Alabama University in the United Athletic Conference (UAC) during the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Lions will be led by second-year head coach Brent Dearmon. The team will play its home games at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama.

Transfers out
The Lions lost three players to the transfer portal.

Transfers in
The Lions added sixteen players via transfer.

Spring game
Over 1,500 fans packed Bill Jones Athletic Complex for the 2024 University of North Alabama Purple vs White Spring Game. Both teams were stocked with its own respective players and coaches. Offensive coordinator Kevin Wewers coached Team White, while defensive coordinator Brock Caraboa coached Team Purple.

Team White led 14–0 after 1 quarter. Quarterback TJ Smith ran for an 8-yard touchdown to start the game, and then tight end Kaleb Heatherly caught a 23-yard touchdown from Smith. Team Purple would cut the deficit to 3 before halftime, after a 1-yard touchdown run from Dennis Moody and an 11-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver JJ Evans from quarterback Noah Walters, but receiver Takairee Kenebrew caught a 20-yard pass from TJ Smith to take a 24–14 lead at the half. Team Purple would start the 2nd half strong, after Noah Walters ran for an 8-yard touchdown and receiver Justin Luke caught the two-point pass from Walters. Team White would immediately answer with Sam Contorno hitting a field goal. On the final play of the game, Kevin Wewers of Team White called a trick play, with transfer running back Jayvian "Juice" Allen taking the snap, handing it off to TJ Smith, who threw it to quarterback Ben Harris in the endzone for the 8-yard touchdown, capping the action with their 33–22 win.

Schedule
North Alabama will begin its 2024 campaign with a slate of four non-conference games. The Lions will start with a Week 0 face off against the Southeast Missouri Redhawks on August 24. This was originally slated to be held in Cape Girardeau, Missouri before becoming the FCS Kickoff game in Montgomery, Alabama. This game will also mark their first matchup since 1956. The Lions' first road game will be an against the Division I FBS-level Memphis Tigers on August 31. This will be their first game against one another since 2022 and the second all-time meeting of the 2 schools. North Alabama will stay on the road to face UT Martin on September 14 in Martin, Tennessee. The Lions' home opener will be on September 21 as North Alabama welcomes Illinois State Redbirds to Braly Stadium. This will start a home and home series between the schools and it will also be the first ever meeting of the 2 teams.

North Alabama and the UAC announced the 2024 football schedule on November 14, 2023. This schedule was later revised on June 10, 2024 as Stephen F. Austin left the conference. The 2024 Lions' schedule consists of 5 home games and 6 away games for the regular season. North Alabama will host four UAC conference opponents Tarleton State, Abilene Christian, Austin Peay and Utah Tech at home and will travel to four UAC opponents West Georgia, Central Arkansas, Southern Utah and Eastern Kentucky.

West Georgia is the newest member of the United Athletic Conference and will join in July 2024 as a part of their transition to Division I athletics. This will revive a former Gulf South Conference rivalry as West Georgia and North Alabama played each other for 35 consecutive years from 1983 until the Lions made the jump to Division I after 2017. Their meeting on September 28 will mark their first meeting since 2017.

Defense
Key: POS: Position, SOLO: Solo Tackles, AST: Assisted Tackles, TOT: Total Tackles, TFL: Tackles-for-loss, SACK: Quarterback Sacks, INT: Interceptions, BU: Passes Broken Up, PD: Passes Defended, QBH: Quarterback Hits, FR: Fumbles Recovered, FF: Forced Fumbles, BLK: Kicks or Punts Blocked, SAF: Safeties, TD : Touchdown