Hall of Fame Coach Bill Burgess Passes Away
12/13/2023
12/13/2023
BIRMINGHAM - Jacksonville State coaching legend and Hall of Famer Bill Burgess passed away at age 82 early Wednesday morning.
Burgess coached the Gamecocks for 12 seasons from 1985-96 and built Jax State into one of the top Division II programs in the nation. He was recently inducted into the Gulf South Conference Hall of Fame, adding to a long list of career honors for one of the men for whom Jax State's football field is named.
"On behalf of the entire JSU Family, we extend our deepest sympathies to the entire Burgess Family," Jax State President Dr. Don Killingsworth said. "Coach Burgess launched JSU to national recognition in football and was one of the best at building young men into the great husbands, fathers and community members that they are today. He will surely be missed, and all of the Burgess family and Gamecock Football family are in our prayers."
After posting an overall record of 84-49-4 with four conference titles and the 1992 NCAA Division II National Championship, Burgess is in several halls of fame. Prior to the 2023 induction by the GSC, he was inducted into the Jacksonville State Athletics Hall of Fame and the Calhoun County Sports Hall of Fame in 2003, the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2019 and the NCAA Division II Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of Coach Burgess," Jax State Athletics Director Greg Seitz said. "He was one of the best coaches to ever stand on a sideline and had as much of an impact on his players as any coach I've ever met. He had a tremendous career, but he was an even better man that left a lasting impression on anyone who had the honor of knowing him. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Geynell, his children, family, players and staff members family during this difficult time."
Eight of his 12 season at JSU came in the GSC, where he led the Gamecocks to conference titles in 1988, 1989, 1991 and 1992 - all within their final five seasons in the league before moving to Division I. He led the Gamecocks to their first National Championship in football in 1992 and also coached the Gamecocks to the National Championship Game three times.
His overall record included a 79-22-4 record during his years in the GSC, and his teams posted a 42-15-3 conference record in GSC play. He was a three-time GSC Coach of the Year and the 1992 NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year. Under Burgess' guidance, JSU became the first GSC program in history to win 13 games in a season in 1989.
Burgess coached 64 All-GSC Players and Nine All-Americans during his GSC tenure at JSU, who honored him in 2010 by naming its football field Burgess-Snow Field, previously Paul Snow Stadium, after him. In 2021, he received the Alabama Football Coaches Association (ALFCA) Lifetime Achievement Award.
A Second-Team All-State player at Jones Valley High School in Birmingham, Burgess went on to play fullback at Auburn, where he lettered in 1961 and 1962. He took the head coaching job at Woodlawn HS in Birmingham in 1966 at age 25 and spent five seasons there before taking the head coaching position at Oxford HS in Oxford, Ala. He would stay there for 14 seasons before becoming the head coach at Jacksonville State in 1985. He retired after the 1996 season.
Arrangements have not been announced at this time.