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 Collegiate Athletic Association Division II football National Championship Game this December.

The field began holding 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 Division II playoff appearances, including three straight National Championship victories from 1993 to 1995.

The Lions football team has gone 220-105-8 in their 59 seasons on the field. The Lions also have more wins than any other football program in the state of Alabama since 1990, with six NCAA Regional Championships, five 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 field 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 influence was instrumental 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 collectively 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 sudden heart attack in 1963.

The Florence City Board of Education 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 Division 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 difference 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 field had a grass playing surface until last summer when it was upgraded to artificial 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 field 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.”