FLORENCE — Before Bill Walton saw Bill Russell, before Walton met his hero, Walton had heard of the 11-time NBA champion.

FLORENCE — Kate Wiseman couldn’t lie, nor did she have much interest in doing so.

FLORENCE — It might be a good time to bust out some tie dye and play some Grateful Dead.

TUSCALOOSA — Alabama wide receiver JoJo Earle is expected to miss the first month of the season with a broken foot.

FLORENCE — There were still almost three minutes left in the final session of Tuesday’s practice when Chris Willis decided to have his players huddle up at the midfield logo. And so, the mini-speech began.

FLORENCE — Jeremy Provence is about to begin his fifth year coaching cross country at North Alabama. With UNA joining the ASUN Conference and becoming a full-fledged Division I school, this year will be one of the most important of his tenure.

Alabama was voted No. 1 in the preseason USA Today coaches' poll released Monday, with Ohio State second and defending national champion Georgia third.

FLORENCE — Corson Swan looked down at his helmet sitting on the ground and the black, mushroom-like pad that appeared to be sprouting out the top.

FLORENCE — Jakob Cummings brought his hand up and rubbed the back of his neck.

The mushroom-like contraptions NFL players are wearing on their helmets during training camp may look strange, but they’re a part of an ongoing safety experiment the league hopes will lead to a reduction in head injuries.

FLORENCE — Josh Looney joked there wasn’t any other news planned — at least for this week and not that the North Alabama athletic director knew about yet.

FLORENCE — North Alabama is officially a Division I member. Now, the Lions have an undated look to go with it.

FLORENCE — Kyree Fields couldn’t help but notice the difference.

A recommendation to change transfer rules for Division I college athletes that included unlimited opportunities to switch schools with immediate eligibility was bounced back to a committee for more research by the NCAA's D-I Board of Directors on Wednesday.