JACKSONVILLE – The 2003 Jacksonville State University Athletic Hall of Fame Class includes five of the school's six NCAA National Championships.
Bill Burgess coached the Gamecocks to the 1992 football title,
Robert Dillard led the JSU gymnastics team to the 1984 and 1985 championships,
Tim VanEgmond pitched Jax State to back-to-back baseball titles in 1990, 1991 and three-time All-American golfer
Jeff Jordan form the 2003 class.
Bill 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. JSU won four Gulf South Conference crowns, earned five straight invitations to the NCAA Division II playoffs and the Gamecocks advanced to the title game in three of those seasons.
The Birmingham, Ala., native 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. 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.
Robert Dillard coached the Gamecocks to consecutive NCAA Division I titles in 1984 and 1985, the school’s first of six NCAA National Championships.
Jax State finished with 201-67 record and posted nine winning seasons under his leadership. He earned the Kellogg’s National Coach-of-the-Year in 1977 and was twice named the NCAA Division II National Coach-of-the-Year. He won four consecutive Alabama State Gymnastics titles from 1975-79.
JSU made its first NCAA appearance in 1979-80 as the team finished 10th in the nation after posting a 27-3 record and winning the regional title. JSU also won the Regional Title in 1981-82 and finished as NCAA Runner-up in Division II before posting back-to-back NCAA Championships in 1984-85.
Tim VanEgmond led the Gamecocks to back-to-back NCAA Division II National Championships in 1990 and again in 1991. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the World Series in 1990 and again in 1991 to become the only player in NCAA history to earn back-to-back MVP honors.
VanEdmond finished the 1990 season with an 8-2 record and earned five saves. His senior season, finished with a microscopic 1.48 ERA to rank best on the team in 1991 and finished with a 10-2 record with one save. He also had one stretch of 50-plus innings without allown any earned runs. The Senoma, Ga., native was named to the NCAA All-Time Division II team.
Following college, he moved to the Major League level when he was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 1991 draft. He became Jacksonville State’s third pitcher to play in the Major Leagues when the Red Sox called him up to pitch in June of 1994.
Jeff Jordan was a three-time NCAA Division II All-American, from 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, the only three-time All-American the Gamecocks have ever had.
Jordan also holds the JSU Division II all-time stroke average in a season record at 72.76. He was a two-time Scholar All-American and led JSU to a 150-16-1 record in 1990-91.
The Gamecocks won two straight Gulf South Conference titles in 1991-92 and 1992-93 after team posted a 101-36 and 99-35 records, respectively. He finished the 1992-93 season 6th at the NCAA National Championships and was 21st his junior year and rarely finished out of the Top 10 in all of his tournaments.
The 13th class of the JSU Athletic Hall of Fame will be inducted on November 14th and will be recognized during the November 15 football game vs Eastern Illinois.
