Delta State University President William N. LaForge, right, presented a donation from the DSU Foundation to Mississippi State University’s Dudy Noble stadium baseball project to MSU President Mark E. Keenum, left, prior to Thursday’s meeting of the state College Board in Jackson. The gift honors former MSU baseball great and longtime DSU coach and administrator David M. “Boo” Ferriss. Ferriss was MSU’s first scholarship baseball player and went on to a remarkable career in Major League Baseball with the Boston Red Sox.The Delta State University Foundation has made a $10,000 donation to the Mississippi State University Dudy Noble Stadium project in honor of MSU baseball great and former longtime DSU head baseball coach David M. “Boo” Ferriss.
The Shaw, Miss., native is a member of the Mississippi State University Sports Hall of Fame, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame. Ferriss, 93, played at State in 1941 and 1942 and holds the distinction of being the first player to attend Mississippi State on a baseball scholarship.
“Boo Ferriss is one of our state’s most beloved sports figures,” said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. “He will forever be both a Bulldog and a Statesman, and because of his association with the great baseball programs at our two institutions, it is most appropriate that we join with Delta State in honoring Coach Ferriss in this manner. We are grateful to the Delta State University family for this most generous gift.”
Delta State President William N. LaForge noted the significance of this donation.
“This contribution, from one institution’s foundation to another, is significant because it’s yet another way for all of us to pay great tribute to this outstanding man — particularly because it’s Boo Ferriss’s alma mater where he also played,” said LaForge.
“This gift is a win-win — meaning the Delta State community can once again hold up our hero and legend Coach Boo Ferriss, while supporting a very worthwhile endeavor at the school where he first made his name,” LaForge added. “It also serves to honor him and provides donor satisfaction to the contributors for this project, all of which are private dollars. No institutional funds are being used for this project.”
LaForge presented the gift to Keenum on Thursday prior to the meeting of the Board of Trustees of Institutions of Higher Learning in Jackson.
After his playing days, Ferriss entered the coaching profession and is credited with building the legendary baseball program at Delta State. In his 26 seasons at Delta State, Ferriss’s teams won 639 games and lost only 387. He led the way to four Gulf South Conference championships, three National Collegiate Athletic Association regional titles, and placed second once and third twice in the College World Series.
Ferriss served as the first executive director of the Delta State Foundation until he retired from the institution in 1988. Keith Fulcher, executive director of the DSU Foundation, has worked closely with Ferriss throughout the years.
“The Delta State University Foundation Board of Directors is pleased to honor Coach Ferriss through this gift, especially since he was named the first director of the Foundation in 1967. The successes we’ve enjoyed in private support are due to his years of building lifelong relationships with our alumni and donors. No one has done it better than Coach Ferriss,” said Fulcher.
Coach Ferriss has left a lasting impact on the current president of the Delta State Foundation James T. Harvey and many others.
“As President of the Delta State University Foundation Board of Directors and a former player for Coach Dave ‘Boo’ Ferriss, I am pleased to honor him with this gift of $10,000 to his alma mater, Mississippi State University,” said Harvey. “Coach Ferriss’s legacy and impact in the baseball world transcends universities and reaches across the United States. My hope is that the gift will help the next generation of baseball players and fans to emulate the love of the game that Coach Ferriss has imparted to so many of us.”
MSU, Mississippi’s flagship research university, is online at www.msstate.edu, meridian.msstate.edu, facebook.com/msstate, instagram.com/msstate, pinterest.com/msstate and twitter.com/msstate. Invest in the MSU Foundation at infiniteimpactmsu.com.
Delta State University, a regional university of national distinction, is online at www.deltastate.edu, facebook.com/deltastateuniversity and twitter.com/deltastate. Support Delta State through the DSU Foundation online at deltastategiving.org, and use the hashtag #booferriss on all related media.
