Bill Burgess

Burgess, a graduate of Jones Valley High School, lettered in football at Auburn then began his coaching career as a football assistant at Banks. He became head football coach at Woodlawn in 1967. In 1971, Burgess began a 14- year tenure as head football coach at Oxford. His Oxford teams were 107-41-4 and reached the AHSAA playoffs eight times. Burgess became head football coach at Jacksonville State University in 1985. Bill Burgess finished his career record of 84-49-4 and won the 1992 NCAA division II National Championship in 12 seasons as head coach. He won Gulf South Conference crowns, five straight invitations to the NCAA Division II playoffs and the Gamecocks advanced to the title game in three of those seasons.

Burgess was a three-time Gulf South conference Coachof- the Year selections and was named the 1992 NCAA Division II National Coach-of-the-Year.

Jacksonville State University won the Gulf South Conference in 1988 with a 7-1 record, then the Gamecocks won the 1989 GSC title with a perfect 8-0 record and finished NCAA Runner-up. Jax State then finished 6-0 in 1991 and 5-0-1 in 1992 to win back-to-back GSC titles, capped with the 1992 National Championship in JSU’s final game as a Division II member. Burgess coached the Gamecocks from 1985 until 1996.

He was inducted into the Jacksonville State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.