The Division II Football National Championship game will be moving from Florence to Kansas City, Kansas starting in 2014.

The championship has been played in Braly Stadium, home of UNA football, for the past 28 years.

“I hate to see the game go,” said Jimmy Waddell, UNA employee and referee supervisor for Division II football. “It’s been a mainstay in the Shoals area for so long.”

Florence hosted the second-longest continuous period for any NCAA championship venue, close behind the College Baseball World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

Kansas City, Kansas outbid Pittsburg, Kansas and UNA to host the championship.

The game will be played at Sporting Park, an 18,647-seat stadium, which is also home to the professional soccer team Sporting Kansas City.

The game is scheduled to be played in Kansas City, Kansas from through 2017.

The history of the National Championship game dates back to its inception in 1973 with the first game being held in Sacramento, California.

The game moved to Wichita Falls, Texas in 1976, Longview, Texas in 1978, Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1979, McAllen, Texas in 1981 and finally made its way to Florence in 1986.

After UNA made its debut in the championship game in 1985, Grady Liles, former UNA Sportsman’s Club president, led a group of people from the Shoals area to get the game moved from McAllen, Texas to Florence.

The game was not named the Division II National Championship game until it arrived in Florence. Prior to that, it was given a regional bowl title picked by the host city.

UNA was undefeated in all three of its subsequent appearances in the championship game from 1993-1995.

UNA was lead by current head coach Bobby Wallace while he was in his first stint as head coach at UNA, and current offensive coordinator Cody Gross was the starting quarterback for all three championship teams.

At the time, UNA was the only team in college football scholarship history to win three national championships in a row.

The feat has only since been matched by North Dakota State University with its trio of titles from 2011-2013.

Florence will continue to host the Division II Hall of Fame and presentation of the Harlon Hill Trophy.