Delta State University (DSU) is a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in state ownership, owned by the state or receives significant government spending, public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private unive ...

Cleveland, Mississippi Cleveland is a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 11,199 as of the 2020 United States Census. Cleveland has a large commercial economy, with numerous restaurants, stores, and services along U.S. 61. Cleveland ...

, a city in the

Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yaz ...

History

The school was established in 1924 by the State of Mississippi, using the facilities of the former Bolivar County Agricultural High School, which consisted of three buildings in Cleveland. On February 19, 1924, Senators William B. Roberts and Arthur Marshall cosponsored Senate Bill No. 263, which established Delta State Teachers College, which Mississippi Governor

Henry L. Whitfield Henry Lewis Whitfield (June 20, 1868 – March 18, 1927) was an American politician who was Governor of Mississippi from 1924 until he died in 1927. Biography Whitfield was born in Rankin County, Mississippi. He began his teaching career at the ...

signed on April 9, 1924; the bill had been sponsored in the Mississippi House of Representatives by Nellie Nugent Somerville, the first woman to serve in the Mississippi state legislature. The three buildings were Hill Hall, an administration and classroom building, Hardee Hall, a men's dormitory, and Taylor Hall, a women's dormitory. On February 14, 1924, James Wesley Broom was appointed president of the college, and the college opened its doors on September 15, 1925. In May 1926, Broom died following complications from an ear infection. William Zeigel was named his successor. The seal of the college was designed in 1928 as a project of an art class. World War II greatly affected the college. Anticipating the war in 1941, the college created a civilian pilot training program. When the war began, 254 Delta State students joined the armed forces. When the war ended, student enrollment at Delta State increased from 185 to 483, aided by the federal program for veterans known as the

GI Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

to encourage education. During the 1947 session of the Delta Council,

Dean Acheson Dean Gooderham Acheson (pronounced ; April 11, 1893October 12, 1971) was an American statesman and lawyer. As the 51st U.S. Secretary of State, he set the foreign policy of the Harry S. Truman administration from 1949 to 1953. He was also Truma ...

(Under-Secretary of State in Truman's administration) delivered a speech on campus that unveiled the

Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...

. He detailed plans for postwar relief and investment in Europe to help the nations recover from destruction. In 1955, the name Delta State Teachers College was changed to Delta State College. Delta State earned full accreditation from the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...

in 1963. It developed graduate programs, which it opened for admission in 1965. Given graduate program and research development, in 1974 the state legislature authorized the college to be named as the current Delta State University. In 1965, Delta State initiated a graduate program (Master of Education in Elementary Education, Elementary Supervision, Guidance, English, History, Math, Music, Social Studies, Business Education, Physical Education, and Science). From 1925 to 1967 the university had a whites-only race admission policy. Thirteen years after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in '' Brown v. Board of Education'' (1954), ruling that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional and three years after passage of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration req ...

, the state and administration ended

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Intern ...

at DSU. Shirley Antoinette Washington was the first African-American student to enroll at DSU that year. Beginning in the 1980s, the university developed an aviation program, which continues. In 2005, Delta State assisted evacuees from Hurricane Katrina by opening Hugh White Hall as temporary housing.

Presidents

* James Wesley Broom – 1925–1926 * Dr. William Marion Kethley – 1926–1956 * Dr. James Milton Ewing – 1956–1971 * Dr. Aubrey Lucas – 1971–1975 * Dr. Kent Wyatt – 1975–1999 * Dr. David Potter – 1999–2002 * Dr. John Thornell – 2002–2003 (interim) * Dr. John Hilpert – 2003–2013 * William N. LaForge – 2013–2022

Campus

Delta State University is located on at 1003 W Sunflower Rd (Highway 8 West), in the northwest area of Cleveland, MS, 38733. About 30 percent of students reside in on-campus housing. Delta State provides both men's dormitories and women's dormitories, as well as apartments for married students. Most of the 64 buildings on campus use a particular brick pattern of yellow, orange, and white bricks. Particularly famous facilities at Delta State University are the large natatorium for holding swimming competitions, the Bologna Performing Arts Center (pictured left) with two theaters (one that seats 1,178, and another that seats 135), and the sound recording studios of the Delta Music Institute.

Mascots

Delta State has two mascots (one official, one unofficial). Since its inception, Delta State's sports teams have officially been known as the Statesmen because of the role State Rep. Walter Sillers, Jr. played in the location of the school in Cleveland. Sillers was speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives for 20 years. The teams with female athletes are called the Lady Statesmen. However, since the late 1980s, the student body has embraced a mascot that depicts a piece of

okra Okra or Okro (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in many English-speaking countries as ladies' fingers or ochro, is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It has edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with sup ...

wearing boxing gloves and brandishing a fierce expression.

Academics

Delta State provides an undergraduate curriculum, offering 12 baccalaureate degrees in 42 majors. The university also advances student training through certain fields by providing graduate programs of study for eight master's degrees, the

Education Specialist The Education Specialist, also referred to as Educational Specialist or Specialist in Education (Ed.S. or S.Ed.), is a specialist degree in education and terminal professional degree in the U.S. that is designed to provide knowledge and theory in ...

degree, and the

Doctor of Education The Doctor of Education (Ed.D. or D.Ed.; Latin ''Educationis Doctor'' or ''Doctor Educationis'') is (depending on region and university) a research or professional doctoral degree that focuses on the field of education. It prepares the holder for ...

degree. * College of Arts and Sciences * College of Business * College of Education * School of Nursing

Athletics

13290-LSC Football Festival-8563 (9778068981)

The Delta State University Department of Athletics sponsors thirteen intercollegiate sports, competing at the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

level. DSU is affiliated with the

Gulf South Conference The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the Southeastern United States. History Originally known as the ...

and New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference. The institution competes intercollegiately in men's

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

, diving,

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...

, soccer, and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

. The women's intercollegiate program consists of

, fast-pitch

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

, cross-country,

, soccer,

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ent ...

, and diving. One of Delta State's most notable sports coaches was (Lily) Margaret Wade (1912–1995). Wade played on the basketball team for Delta State, but the school dropped the sport when she was 19. The school claimed the sport was "too strenuous for young ladies". Wade responded, "We cried and burned our uniforms but there was nothing else we could do." Basketball was revived in 1973, and Wade was asked to coach the team. She coached the women's basketball team to three consecutive AIAW national championships and a 93–4 record, including a 51-game winning streak, at the time, the longest winning streak in women's college basketball. One star of these championship teams was Luisa (Lucy) Harris, who was drafted by the New Orleans Jazz in 1977. Wade was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985. Today, the Division I women's basketball player of the year receives the Margaret Wade Trophy. Lloyd Clark, a native of Drew, took over the women's basketball program in 1983. Over the next 19 years he compiled a staggering 494–98 record. In addition, Clark's teams won three NCAA Women's Division II Basketball Championships. During those years, DSU played in the NCAA tournament 16 times, with 11 appearances in the

Elite Eight In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...

. Clark's 1988–89 team became the first NCAA team to win a National Championship on its home floor. During his career, Clark compiled a record of 206–38 (.845) in

Games. Lloyd Clark is a member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame along with other DSU heroes Margaret Wade, Lusia Harris-Stewart, and former

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

Dave "Boo" Ferriss. Ferriss coached the baseball program for nearly thirty years and led them to three appearances in the NCAA Division II College World Series before retiring in 1988. Boo was born in Shaw, Mississippi.

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher ...

Eli Whiteside played baseball for the university, as did

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brookly ...

pitcher

Brent Leach Brent Allen Leach (born November 18, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers and in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Yokohama BayStars. Amateur career Leach att ...

. Matt Miller of the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

also played for the Statesmen. One notable would-be baseball player and student who was cut during tryouts was writer

John Grisham John Ray Grisham Jr. (; born February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas) is an American novelist, lawyer and former member of the 7th district of the Mississippi House of Representatives, known for his popular legal thrillers. According to the Am ...

. In 2008, Grisham returned to the campus to join Ferriss in an evening of baseball tales, raising more than $100,000 for the athletic program. Delta State alumnus Jeremy Richardson was an NBA player. Delta State won the 2004 NCAA Division II national baseball championship. Coach Mike Kinnison has guided the Statesmen to the 2004 NCAA National title, four College World Series appearances, nine NCAA South Regional appearances (1999–2005, 2007, 2008), 11 GSC West Division titles (1997–2005, 2007, 2008), three NCAA South Regional championships, and four Gulf South Conference titles. Delta State won the 2000 NCAA Division II national football championship. Delta State's football team won the

Championship in 1998, 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2014. They were runner-up in the D-2 National Championship in 2010. They were put out in the 4th round of the playoffs in 2011.

Flight school

Delta State has a fairly large flight school and is also the only university in Mississippi to offer a degree in Commercial Aviation.

Academic buildings

* Gibson-Gunn Building * Flight Instruction Building

Fleet

the DSU fleet of 19 aircraft consists of the following: *5

Cessna 152 The Cessna 152 is an American two-seat, fixed- tricycle-gear, general aviation airplane, used primarily for flight training and personal use. It was based on the earlier Cessna 150 incorporating a number of minor design changes and a slightly ...

*5 Cessna 172P *5

Cessna 172R The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.

*1 Cessna U206G *3 Diamond DA42 L360 DSU Flight Operations has two large hangars located at Cleveland Municipal Airport and the Gibson-Gunn Commercial Aviation building on the Delta State Campus.

Student life

Residence halls and student housing

There are six student residence halls on campus; three house women, two house men and one is co-ed.

Greek life

Even though Delta State University has relatively few fraternities and sororities on campus, many students participate in Greek life. Originally, Delta State had only local organizations, such as Delta Alpha Omega or the Cavaliers, which existed until the mid-1960s, when their members joined

Kappa Alpha Order Kappa Alpha Order (), commonly known as Kappa Alpha or simply KA, is a social Fraternities and sororities, fraternity and a fraternal order founded in 1865 at Washington and Lee University, Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) i ...

and

Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha (), commonly known as PIKE, is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and colonies across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate members over 3 ...

respectively. However, the first national social fraternity to charter at Delta State was

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America (colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Mu Alpha, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music. The fraternity is open to men "w ...

, in 1960. Within the decade, several other chapters of national Greek-letter organizations chartered at Delta State. They are governed by two independent councils—the Interfraternity Council, and the Panhellenic Council.

National Pan-Hellenic Council

The Delta State National Pan-Hellenic Council governs the chapters represented in the

National Pan-Hellenic Council The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) is a collaborative umbrella council composed of historically African American fraternities and sororities also referred to as Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). The NPHC was formed as a permanent ...

. *

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen st ...

, Mu Gamma Chapter, 1978 (The Phirst and the Finest) *

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved in ...

, Omicron Psi Chapter (Suave House), 1983 * Delta Sigma Theta, Kappa Pi Chapter, September 22, 1973 *

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...

, Nu Eta Chapter, P.O.D.C *

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty ad ...

, Upsilon Delta Delta, 1996 *

Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students with nine other Howard students as char ...

, The "Untouchable" Xi Beta Chapter, 1982 *

Zeta Phi Beta Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. In 1920, five women from Howard University envisioned a sorority that would raise the consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of scholastic achi ...

, The PHInomenal Psi Kappa Chapter, April 8, 1981 *

Sigma Gamma Rho Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority, international collegiate, and non-profit community service organization that was founded on November 12, 1922, by seven educators on the Irvington campus (1875– ...

, Upsilon Iota Chapter, December 12, 2021

Panhellenic Council

The Delta State Panhellenic Council is a governing body that governs three sorority chapters. *

Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta (), also known as Tri Delta, is an international Fraternities and sororities in North America, women's fraternity founded on November 27, 1888 at Boston University by Ida Shaw Martin, Sarah Ida Shaw, Eleanor Dorcas Pond, Isabel ...

, Phi Phi Chapter, 1962 *

Kappa Delta Kappa Delta (, also known as KD or Kaydee) was the first sorority founded at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University), in Farmville, Virginia. Kappa Delta is one of the "Farmville Four" sororities founded at the university, whi ...

, Gamma Psi Chapter, 1962 *

Phi Mu Phi Mu () is the second oldest female fraternal organization established in the United States. The fraternity was founded at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia as the Philomathean Society on , and was announced publicly on March 4 of the same ...

, Kappa Epsilon Chapter, 1966 * Zeta Tau Alpha (inactive)

Professional fraternities and honor societies

* Alpha Eta Rho (Professional Aviation Fraternity) *

Alpha Psi Omega Alpha Psi Omega National Theatre Honor Society () is an American recognition fraternity for participants in collegiate theatre. History The ''Alpha Cast'' (Alpha Psi Omega's term for "chapter") was founded at Fairmont State College (now Fai ...

(theatre honor society), Zeta Epsilon Chapter, founded 1935 (inactive) *

Kappa Pi Kappa Pi () International Art Honor Society, founded in 1911 at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky, is an International Collegiate Art Honorary Fraternity. It is open to any student who has talent for or supports visual art. Kappa ...

(art honor society) – DSU is home to Kappa Pi National President Ron Koehler *

Mu Phi Epsilon Mu Phi Epsilon () is a co-ed international professional music fraternity. It has over 75,000 members in 227 collegiate chapters and 113 alumni chapters in the US and abroad. History Mu Phi Epsilon was founded on November 13, 1903 at the Metro ...

(professional music fraternity), Gamma Zeta Chapter *

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is one of the most prestigious honor societies in the United States with chapters at more than 300 college campuses. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington and Lee University i ...

(leadership society) *

Phi Alpha Phi Alpha may refer to: * Phi Alpha Literary Society, a men's literary society founded in 1845 at Illinois College * Phi Alpha (fraternity), a historically Jewish fraternity founded at George Washington University on October 14, 1914, which merged ...

(Social Work honor society) *

Pi Kappa Lambda Pi Kappa Lambda () is an American honor society for undergraduate students, graduate students, and professors of music. There are over 270 chapters nationally; a complete roster of current chapters is listed in the organization's official web ...

(music honor society)

Notable graduates

* Steve Azar, country musician * Jack Gregory, professional football player * Lusia Harris, professional basketball player, Olympian *

Jeanette W. Hyde Jeanette W. Hyde (born June 15, 1938) is an American diplomat. She was Ambassador of the United States to Barbados, Dominica, St Lucia from 1994 to 1998, and to Antigua, Grenada, St. Vincent, and St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla from 1995 to 1998, un ...

, US ambassador in the Caribbean *

Anthony Maddox Anthony Maddox (born November 22, 1978) is a former American football defensive tackle. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Delta State. Early years Maddox played hi ...

, professional football player *

Aubrey Matthews Graduated from Moss Point High School in Moss Point, MS - info from his brother Aubrey Derron Matthews (born September 15, 1962) is a former professional American football, football player in the National Football League. He has 3 children (2 daug ...

, professional football player *

Charlotte P. Morris Charlotte P. Morris is an American academic administrator. She served as the interim president of Tuskegee University, a private, historically black university in Tuskegee, Alabama, and on July 26, 2021, was elected ninth president of the univers ...

, university administrator * Scott Nagy, college basketball coach *

Rowan Nathaniel House Rowan Nathaniel House (December 13, 1908 – January 26, 1947) was a mid-20th-century artist. He used a variety of media including oil on canvas, watercolor, and pen and ink. Early life House was born in Mississippi, U.S.A. to Nathaniel Perk ...

, artist *

Viola B. Sanders Viola Brown Sanders (born February 21, 1921 - April 28, 2013) was an American naval officer who served as deputy director of Women in the Navy from 1958 to 1960, and in 1962 was appointed as the 6th director of Women in the Navy (Assistant Chief ...

, American naval officer * Chase Sherman, mixed martial artist * Eli Whiteside, professional baseball player and coach

References

External links

*
Delta State Athletics website
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1924 Public universities and colleges in Mississippi Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Education in Bolivar County, Mississippi Buildings and structures in Bolivar County, Mississippi 1924 establishments in Mississippi Cleveland, Mississippi