JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State University Board of Trustees approved to name its football field Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium during Monday's quarterly Board of Trustees meeting.
The football playing facility has been called Paul Snow Stadium since the 1961 season, but will now also honor former coach Bill Burgess, who led the Gamecocks to the 1992 NCAA Division II National Championship.
Burgess finished with a career record of 84-49-4 and won the 1992 NCAA Division II National Championship in 12 seasons as head coach. He won four Gulf South Conference crowns and earned five straight invitations to the NCAA Division II playoffs, advancing to the title game in three of those seasons.
“I'm very humbled by this honor,” Burgess said. “This is more of an honor for the players, assistant coaches, trainers and managers, and all the people that we had during that time.”
Burgess was a three-time Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year selection and was named the 1992 NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year. He coached the Gamecocks from 1985 through the 1996 season.
“Adding Coach Burgess' name to the football field will recognize his outstanding contributions to the Jacksonville State football program,” Athletics Director Oval Jaynes said.
“The addition of his name to the field is not only a tribute to Coach Burgess, but also all the student-athletes that played for him during his 12 years as our head coach,” Jaynes added. “His 84 wins are the second-most in school history and his 1992 team won the Division II National Championship.”
JSU 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-Snow Field at JSU Stadium will be dedicated during a pre-game ceremony at the 2010 home opener, which is scheduled for Sept. 11 against Chattanooga.
