Bill Burgess, who led Jacksonville State to a national championship as part of a Hall of Fame football coaching career, has died. He was 82.

Burgess’ death was announced by the athletic department at JSU, where he coached from 1985-96. He posted a record of 84-49-4 with the Gamecocks, including four Gulf South Conference championships and the 1992 Division II national title.

“On behalf of the entire JSU family, we extend our deepest sympathies to the entire Burgess Family,” Jax State president 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.”

A Birmingham native, Burgess was an all-state performer at Jones Valley High School and played fullback at Auburn in the early 1960s before going into high school coaching. He spent five seasons at Woodlawn and 14 at Oxford, winning 127 games and reaching the playoffs nine times, with his 1982 Oxford team advancing all the way to the state finals before losing to Thompson.

When Jacksonville State coach Joe Hollis left after just one season to become an assistant at Georgia, the Gamecocks hired Burgess. His teams won Gulf South championships in 1988, 1989, 1991 and 1992, losing in the national championship game twice before finally bringing home the trophy in their final season in Division II with a 17-13 victory over Pittsburg State in 1992.

“It was the greatest feeling in the world,” Burgess told The Anniston Star in 2005. “It was our last shot at it. We didn’t mention that to the players, but they knew. I’ll never forget the looks on their faces.”

As JSU began the transition from Division II to the Division I-AA (now FCS) level, Burgess’ teams had losing records in three of the next four years. His contract was not renewed at the end of the 1996 season.

Burgess was inducted into the Calhoun County Sports Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 2005, the NCAA Division II Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2019. Jacksonville State’s home stadium was renamed Burgess-Snow Field in his honor in 2010, and he received the Alabama Football Coaches Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021.

“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.”

Burgess coached 64 All-GSC players and nine Division II All-Americans during his time at Jax State. One of his players at Oxford High was his son Rick, the co-host of the popular radio program “The Rick & Bubba Show.”