CLEVELAND, Miss. – Delta State University Athletics is excited to announce the speaker for the third annual Night of Champions presented with Cannon Motors of Mississippi. Kim Mulkey, a six-time National Champion as a player and head coach, will headline the event on Friday, August 14, 2026.

Director of Athletics Mike Kinnison stated, "The Night of Champions continues to be a yearly highlight for our University and community. We are honored to have Kim Mulkey as our 2026 featured speaker and look forward to hearing her experiences as a National Championship player and building a program as a National Championship coach."

Mulkey, who won an Olympic Gold Medal in 1984, is the only person in college basketball history – men's or women's – to win national championships as a head coach, assistant coach and a player. She's one of just three coaches (Bobby Knight and Dean Smith) in college basketball history to win national titles as a player and a coach.

As a player, Mulkey played for the Lady Techsters at Louisiana Tech, before returning as an assistant coach for 15 seasons. During a 21-season coaching stint at Baylor University that saw three national championships, Mulkey was named the Head Coach at Louisiana State University on April 25, 2021.

The connection between Delta State women's basketball and Louisiana Tech and LSU is long standing, as the Lady Statesmen have played both programs several times in DSU's illustrious history. Back when women's sports were governed by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), when there were no barriers among NCAA division classifications, the Lady Statesmen played both Louisiana Tech and Louisiana State for the first time during the 1976-77 season, en route to legendary Coach Margaret Wade's third AIAW National Championship. In fact, Delta State defeated Louisiana State 68-55 to win the last of Wade and the Fab Five's three-peat in Minneapolis, Minn., on March 26, 1976.

Under the direction of Mulkey, three prominent standouts and current WNBA players (Brittney Griner, Odyssey Sims, and NaLyssa Smith) were awarded the Wade Trophy, presented annually to the best player in college women's basketball.

The Wade Trophy is named after the late, legendary Coach Margaret Wade, who coached the Lady Statesmen from 1973-1979, amassing a 157-23 overall record and three AIAW National Championships. Known as the "Mother of Modern Women's College Basketball," Wade's legacy still holds a lasting impact.

For sponsorship opportunities for A Night of Champions, please contact Kel Lange, Athletics Development Officer, at klange@deltastate.edu. Stay tuned to gostatesmen.com throughout the year for more information on Kim Mulkey.