CLEVELAND, Miss. – An already remarkable career on the diamond added another chapter on Monday, Nov. 12, as Delta State University President William N. LaForge tapped Statesman baseball head coach Mike Kinnison to lead the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Kinnison, the sixth director of athletics in the school’s history, replaces Ronnie Mayers, who is retiring on Dec. 31 after 42 years of service to the Statesmen and Lady Statesmen.
“I am honored to accept the opportunity to lead the department of athletics here at Delta State University,” Kinnison said. “I want to thank President LaForge for his vote of confidence and I want to thank our athletic director search committee. My involvement with the committee showed me they had a definite mindset of what they were looking for. They were very committed, very diligent and very thorough in the process. Not that ended with me being the candidate but just the way they went about their business and taking care of our University’s interest. I’m excited about our future and I’m ready to get to work come Jan. 1, 2019.”
LaForge touted Kinnison’s commitment to Delta State during Monday’s press conference.
“Not surprisingly, Mike came to the search committee very highly recommended by a wide array of supporters,” President LaForge said. “We all know he is one of us, he bleeds Green-and-White to the core. He was the search committee’s hands down top recommendation to me and I couldn’t agree with the committee more. It is my honor to name him to this important position.”
Since 1997, Kinnison, a 2010 inductee into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, has accomplished an unbelievable career record of 939-299-2 (.756), averaging 43 wins per season as head coach. His all-time career record, including high school, is an astounding 1,229-380-2 (.768).
The Statesmen claimed a 3-2 win over Ouachita Baptist on Feb. 9, 2018, to notch Kinnison’s 900th win while the 42-11 record in 2018 was the 14th 40-plus win season for Kinnison.
In his 22 seasons as head coach, Kinnison has guided the Statesmen to the 2004 NCAA Division II national title, six College World Series appearances (2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2017), 14 NCAA South Regional appearances (1999-2005, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018), 11 GSC Western Division titles (1997-2005, 2007-2008), six NCAA South/South Central Regional championships and seven Gulf South Conference titles.
In 2004, he earned the ABCA “National Coach of the Year” award after leading the Statesmen to the program’s first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship. He has also been named the Gulf South Coach of the Year six times and appropriately named “Coach of the Decade” by the GSC in 2010.
Kinnison has also coached three American Baseball Coaches Association National Players of the Year, as Dee Haynes (2000), Jud Thigpen (2004) and two-time recipient Zack Shannon (2017, 2018) earned the honor.
Before taking over as head coach, Kinnison served as an assistant coach for three seasons under Bill Marchant. Kinnison was an important component to the 1994 and 1996 teams, who accomplished trips to the Gulf South Conference Championships and the College World Series. In his three years as an assistant, the Statesmen compiled an impressive 138-36 (.793) record.
The Benton, Miss., native was a standout shortstop for the legendary Dave “Boo” Ferris from 1977-1978. Kinnison garnered ABCA Second Team All-American honors during the 1978 season. In that same year, he batted .343 with 25 doubles and 56 RBIs in leading the Statesmen to a second-place finish at the NCAA College World Series. Kinnison held the single-season record for doubles (25-tied) before Will Robertson had 28 in 2016 and previously held the record for most games played (62) in a season.
Before returning to his alma mater, Kinnison was an accomplished high school coach in Mississippi. He coached at Lee Academy (1979-81), Jackson Prep (1982-92) and Madison Central (1993). He claimed three Mississippi Private School Association State Championships at Jackson Prep in 1982, 1990 and 1991. During his prep head-coaching career, Kinnison achieved an overall record of 292-83 (.779).
Kinnison earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics education in 1977 from Delta State University. He later earned a master’s degree in mathematics education from DSU in 1978.
Kinnison is married to the former Cindy Colbert of Grenada. They are the proud parents of Mary Claire and Kate, both graduates of Delta State University, and they have four grandchildren. Mary Claire has two sons, Bowen and Sam, while Kate has two daughters, Hannah and Libby. Mike and Cindy reside in Cleveland.
