Delta State Honors Beloved Coach

Saturday afternoon, Delta State athletics honored one of the baseball program’s icons with the ultimate honor, the retirement of Bill Marchant’s No.22 jersey.

Marchant joins Dave “Boo” Ferriss (No.33) and Bryan Rodgers (No.23) as the only coaches and player that will never have their jersey number worn by any Statesmen.

“This is a most deserved honor for coach Marchant,” Statesmen coach Mike Kinnison said. “Bill (Marchant) was one of the most successful coaches in the country during his time here at DSU. When he retired in 1996, he devoted his time to teaching and directing our Athletic Alumni efforts. I am proud I was a member of his staff and it brings me great pleasure to be able to honor him this weekend in such a permanent way.”

Marchant, who replaced the legendary Statesmen coach Ferriss in 1989, won 283 baseball games in seven seasons with only 127 losses.

His teams would appear in five NCAA regional tournaments and twice in the NCAA Div. II World Series.

Along with being named the South Central coach of the year, Marchant and his Statesmen captured three Gulf South Conference titles.

But his work for Delta State didn’t stop after his retirement in 1996. Marchant went on to work in the physical education department at Delta State and also took over as director of the DSU Athletic Alumni Association.