History of the Gamecocks
The Jacksonville State Gamecocks are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Jacksonville State University (JSU) in Jacksonville, Alabama, United States. The Gamecocks athletic program is a member of the ASUN Conference, which it rejoined on July 1, 2021, after an 18-year absence spent in the Ohio Valley Conference and competes at the NCAA Division I level, including the Football Championship Subdivision. In football, JSU is currently a de facto associate member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), competing in a formal partnership between the ASUN and WAC that will operate until they formally join an FBS football league, Conference USA, in all sports for the 2023-24 academic year.
The JSU mascot is Cocky the Gamecock, and the school colors are red and white. Gamecock teams have won six NCAA national championships in four sports, and Wisconsin–Whitewater is one of only two schools to win NCAA titles in baseball, basketball, and football.
College Sports Established
1883
Location
Jacksonville, Alabama
College Name
Jacksonville State University
Collegiate History
1995 - Present / NCAA Division I
Conference History
1996 - 2003, 2021 - Present / ASUN Conference
2003 - 2021 / Ohio Valley Conference
Nickname
Gamecocks - Jacksonville State University's first football team was fielded in the late 1800's and nicknamed in honor of a rare predatory bird found near the Arctic circle.
The exact details are lost to history, but a group of fans decided it was hard for the school's image to soar like an eagle if the team's name was something of a turkey. People like E.C. Wilson, Bruce Chase and Charles Sprayberry felt a more collegiate-sounding moniker would be more appropriate.
The supporters looked to Southern culture rather than the north pole to symbolize the school's tough spirit. Tongue firmly planted in beak, Gamecock supporters crowed the loudest, and the University found itself with a new identity: a mascot familiar to everyone, including the farm boys who comprised most of the student body back then.
For nearly a half-century - up until 1946 - the fledgling Eagle Owls hooted with pride from the scanty facilities adjacent to the field at John Forney National Guard Armory.
The State Normal School (SNS) team was sparse by today's standards, but the gridiron action was competitive from the start. Present day rivalries such as Samford (Howard College) and Troy University were rooted in those early games.
The team had only 23 players when SNS was renamed Jacksonville Teachers College in 1946, with Head Coach Don Salls beginning his first season, but there was a "big school" atmosphere developing in the foothills.
Along with the new name came new colors. The blue and gold were tossed out in favor of the familiar red and white worn by the area high school players.
The story goes that there were two camps - those who wanted to keep the Eagle Owl nickname and those who wanted new colors. Legend has it that a compromise was worked out; new colors for a new mascot.
It was all worked out by 1947 when the Fighting Gamecocks took to the field for the first time. And, as is true to the nature of the warlike bird itself, the football team and other athletes fought their way to respectability in intercollegiate ranks - eventually bringing home a national championship in every major sport.
NCAA Championships
Baseball 0
Men's Basketball 0
Women's Basketball 0
Football 0
Soccer 0
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.