FLORENCE — The University of North Alabama has signed a four-year contract to renew its oldest football rivalry with Jacksonville State University beginning in 2019.

The initial game of the contract will be Sept. 21, 2019, at Jacksonville State’s Burgess–Snow Field. The Gamecocks will then travel to Florence to take on the Lions at Braly Stadium on Sept. 12, 2020. The two schools will meet again in Jacksonville in 2021 and in Florence in 2022.

The 2020 contest will be JSU’s first game in Florence since winning the 1992 Division II National Championship at Braly Stadium.

Although UNA and Jacksonville State have only met on the football field three times since 1991, the series is the oldest in Lions’ football history — dating back to the first game in UNA’s modern football history on September 29, 1949.

The Lions travelled to Jacksonville for their initial game in 1949 after more than 20 years without a football program. Jacksonville State won the game 12-7. UNA got its first win in the series the following year in Florence, 6-0.

The 2019 meeting will be the first between the two schools as Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) opponents, with UNA’s move to the FCS beginning this fall.

JSU won the last meeting between the two schools 31-12 to open the 2016 season. UNA went on to finish that season 11-1 and advanced to the NCAA Division II National Championship Game.

UNA’s last win in the series came Sept. 13, 2003, with Mark Hudspeth as head coach. The Lions won that game 28-16 in Jacksonville and went on to a 13-1 season that ended with a loss in the semifinals of the Division II playoffs. JSU went on to win the Ohio Valley Conference Championship.

The Gamecocks lead the all-time series 25-18-3.