Delta State University head women’s basketball coach Craig Roden has announced his retirement from the coaching ranks.
Roden’s retirement marks the conclusion of a long and distinguished career with hundreds of lives changed through the student-athlete experience at various stops along A 43-year coaching journey that has spanned the ranks of the NJCAA, NCAA Division I, and NCAA Division II.
“It was an honor to be the women’s basketball coach for such a storied program as Delta State University,” said Roden. “The Cleveland community welcomed us with open arms when my wife [Debra] and I got here, and we are so thankful for that.”
In eight seasons at the helm of the Delta State women’s basketball program, Roden posted a 129-87 overall record, including being crowned Gulf South Conference champions in 2015-2016. The Lady Statesmen made three championship game appearances under Roden, and also appeared in four quarterfinal games and one semifinal matchup.
All told, Roden amassed 625 collegiate coaching victories and also holds the distinction of taking three different GSC programs (West Alabama, West Georgia, and Delta State) to the NCAA tournament, the only coach on the women’s side to accomplish such a feat. He is also the second-winningest coach in GSC women’s basketball history.
“I have been blessed with a lot of things in my coaching career, including good health, great players, great assistant coaches, and great administrators,” Roden remarked. “There are too many to thank individually, but I want to extend a sincere thank you to all my players, assistant coaches, and administrators for their hard work and dedication…you cannot be around as long as I have been and not be blessed to work with great people.”
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