2016 GSC Hall of Fame Spotlight: Cody Gross
Click HERE for the complete 2016 GSC Hall of Fame release.
Career Highlights
- Cody Gross is one of the winningest quarterbacks in the history of college football and led the University of North Alabama to three consecutive NCAA Division II National Championships from 1992-95.
- He had a 41-2 record as a starting quarterback, including a 12-1 record as a starter in the NCAA playoffs.
- He led UNA to 14-0, 13-1 and 14-0 records from 1993-95 and played on UNA teams with a combined 48-5-1 record that included three straight GSC titles, three straight national championships and four straight playoff appearances.
- Gross set school records for career rushing touchdowns and touchdowns scored (40), career touchdowns responsible for (65) and career total offense (5,614).
- Selected first-team All-Gulf South Conference, Gulf South Conference Offensive Player of the Year, first-team CoSIDA NCAA Division II All-South Region, first-team C.M. Frank All-American, third-team CoSIDA NCAA Division II All-American and honorable mention Football Gazette All-American as a senior in 1995. Also permanent team captain.
- He was selected for the 50th Anniversary UNA Football Team for 1949-98, the Gulf South Conference "Team of the Quarter Century" for 1971-95 and the Gulf South Conference Team of the 1990s.
- He has been inducted into the UNA Athletic Hall of Fame (2006), the Division II Football Hall of Fame (2006) and the Lauderdale County Sports Hall of Fame.
- Gross and former North Dakota State quarterback Jeff Bentrim are the only two players in Division II history to be the starting quarterback on three national championship teams.
- In his first collegiate start as a freshman, he led UNA to a stunning 33-21 road win over a previously unbeaten Hampton team in the first round of the Division II playoffs, scoring three touchdowns.
- His only two losses as a starter were to two eventual national championship teams by a combined five points. He lost to 1992 Division II National Champion Jacksonville State in the NCAA quarterfinals (12-10) and to 1994 Division I-AA National Champion Youngstown State (17-14) in Youngstown in a regular-season matchup.
- Despite suffering a torn muscle in the 1995 national semifinal, he played extensively in the 1995 Division II Championship Game, leading three scoring drives in a 27-7 win over Pittsburg State.
- Gross currently serves as UNA's offensive coordinator, helping the Lions to three straight GSC titles from 2013-2015. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Lauderdale County High School before being hired as an assistant coach at UNA. After three years with the Lions he spent two years as an assistant coach at Delta State - one year as offensive coordinator and one as assistant head coach. He was then an assistant coach on a state championship team at Athens High School, served as head coach at Colbert County High School and Wilson High School and returned to UNA as offensive coordinator 2012. He has helped lead the Lions to three straight GSC titles from 2013-15.
Institutional Statement
"Not only is Cody Gross one of the top student-athletes to ever compete in the Gulf South Conference but he is also one of the best people. He ranks as one of the winningest quarterbacks in the history of college football with a 41-2 record and led the University of North Alabama to three consecutive NCAA Division II National Championships from 1992-95. He also claimed the 1996 GSC Commissioner's Trophy as the top male student-athlete in the league. He has three academic degrees from UNA and has enjoyed a successful career after his playing days as both a high school and collegiate coach. He is also a tremendous role model for his student-athletes as a married father of three boys with strong personal and religious convictions. He has already been honored with membership in the Lauderdale County Sports Hall of Fame, the UNA Athletic Hall of Fame and the Division II Football Hall of Fame."