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34 On May 19, JSU will hold its second JAMfest nearby. Gamecock sports fans have been enjoying the $3 million renovation of Pete Mathews Coliseum, which has gone from one of the worst to one of the best basketball arenas in the OVC. The marching band now practices on its own $2 million football field with scoreboard and locker room building. Soon, the expanded baseball stadium will open, and a state-of-the-art student Health and Wellness Center is under construction next to the Student Commons. "We tell people we're on the move and we're going to keep it going," says President John Beehler, who came to JSU in 2015. "JSU is on a path to reach its full potential over time. I like to refer to this phenomena as JSU's renaissance. I'm very excited about continuing the momentum and moving JSU to even greater levels of excellence." While the football Gamecocks came close to taking down goliath Auburn a couple of years ago, Jana McGinnis' softball teams have often upset the Power 5 conference applecart, routinely wrapping up 40-win seasons as she's become the most honored coach in OVC history. In 2009, JSU scored a win for the ages, taking the NCAA Region crown by defeating James Madison, Nebraska and Tennessee in Knoxville. In 2008, the Gamecocks beat Florida State twice in the national regionals. The Gamecocks' 2017 season ended in Athens to NCAA Regional winner Georgia, while the season before JSU went 26-0 in the OVC before finishing runner-up to Auburn in its regional (AU went on to finish as national runner-up). McGinnis and her twin, Dana Austin, were JSU basketball stars and are the only females to have their numbers retired there. They led Jacksonville to the 1991 NCAA Division II South Region title – McGinnis still holds the Jax career assists record – before McGinnis began coaching basketball. She led Cherokee County High School to the state championship, then reluctantly turned to softball in 1994 after the AD sought her help for an ailing program. She's since won 807 games. "I've always felt blessed to lead this program," McGinnis says, "but it's not my program. It's the Jacksonville State family's. But more importantly, it's the kids' who have come through this program; it belongs to them." JSU has more than 55,000 alumni (inset); Houston Cole Library is Alabama's tallest academic building. Cheerleaders support top athletic programs.