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S. R. No. 99 *SS08/R1638* ~ OFFICIAL ~ N1/2
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To: Rules
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Senator(s) DuPree, Johnson, Hartness,
Fillingane
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 99
A RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING LEGENDARY BASKETBALL COACH STEVE 1
KNIGHT AS HE RETIRES AFTER A 44-YEAR CAREER AS MEN'S BASKETBALL 2
COACH AT WILLIAM CAREY UNIVERSITY AND HIS 800TH CAREER VICTORY. 3
WHEREAS, we join the basketball program at William Carey 4
University in honoring the career and legacy of legendary Coach 5
Steve Knight; and 6
WHEREAS, after 44 seasons on the Carey bench, Mississippi's 7
all-time winningest college basketball coach, Steve Knight, 8
announced his retirement on March 19, 2026, bringing an end to a 9
remarkable career that ranks amongst the best in college 10
basketball history; and 11
WHEREAS, Knight was named as the Crusader Basketball Head 12
Coach in 1982, kicking off a career that most only dream of. In 13
just his second season (1984), the Crusaders were Gulf Coast 14
Athletic Conference Champions for the first time under his 15
leadership. Knight's Crusaders won five more GCAC Championships in 16
1985, 1987, 1990, 1992, and 1997. During that span, Carey went to 17
the NAIA National Tournament seven times; and 18
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WHEREAS, in 1987, along with his duties as the head 19
basketball coach, Knight was named as William Carey's Athletic 20
Director. He served in that role for 30 years until 2016. During 21
his tenure as Athletic Director, William Carey more than tripled 22
the number of sport offerings from five in 1987 to 17 in 2016. 23
Knight was selected as a conference Athletic Director of the Year 24
four times and the NAIA Southeast Athletic Director of the Year in 25
2005-2006. He also served as President of the Gulf Coast Athletic 26
Conference from 2001-2005 and again from 2006-2010; and 27
WHEREAS, even doing double duty for so many years, Knight's 28
basketball machine kept rolling. Carey left the GCAC in favor of 29
the Southern States Athletic Conference in 2010, and the wins kept 30
piling up. Carey made it to the NAIA National Tournament six 31
times between 2010 and 2019, including SSAC Championships in 2014 32
and 2018. The 2014 campaign ended with a 28-3 mark, setting a 33
school record for wins in a season and earning Knight the title of 34
NAIA National Men's Basketball Coach of the Year. In 2019, 35
Knight's team earned a trip to the NAIA Fab Four for the first 36
time in school history. The latest team achievement came just 37
this season, when the Crusaders tied the school record for wins 38
(28) en route to another SSAC Championship and trip to the NAIA 39
National Tournament; and 40
WHEREAS, Knight finishes his career with 819 wins, leaving 41
him in an impressive eighth place in NAIA history. Before 42
announcing his retirement, he was first on the list of active 43
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coaches. His teams amassed twenty-two 20 win seasons in his 44
career, including 11 regular season conference championships, 45
eight tournament championships, and 15 trips to the NAIA 46
postseason. Knight has been selected as a District/Conference 47
Coach of the Year 15 times, including this season. In 2015, he 48
became the first ever representative from William Carey to be 49
inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. In addition to 50
the Mississippi Hall of Fame, he is also a member of the 51
University of Southern Mississippi (M Club) Hall of Fame, the 52
William Carey University Athletic Hall of Fame, the Hattiesburg 53
Public School District Hall of Fame, and the Southern Miss Alumni 54
Hall of Fame; and 55
WHEREAS, in his baseball career, Coach Knight became an 56
outstanding pitcher for Hall of Famer Pete Taylor at USM for four 57
seasons. He once threw a no-hitter with fellow Hall of Famer 58
Corky Palmer behind the plate and played basketball three seasons 59
for Hall of Famer M.K. Turk. In professional baseball, he spent 60
two seasons in the Seattle Mariners organization with a 3.23 61
earned run average and 18 saves and retired from baseball to begin 62
a coaching career; and 63
WHEREAS, "The basketball program and the university owe a lot 64
to Coach Knight," said WCU Athletic Director Tracy English. "For 65
forty-four years he produced championships and sent young men back 66
to their communities to be productive citizens. He coached 67
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ST: Recognize legendary basketball Coach Steve
Knight on career and 800th victory.
hundreds of players that went on to become coaches, bankers, 68
doctors, businessmen, preachers"; and 69
WHEREAS, "I have had the opportunity to work with awesome, 70
supportive people, including Presidents, administrators, staff, 71
and fellow coaches, and could not have envisioned a better job 72
experience than what I have had for so long in my hometown," Coach 73
Knight said: 74
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF 75
MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby extend and recognize Legendary 76
Basketball Coach Steve Knight as he retires after a 44-year career 77
as men's basketball coach at William Carey University and his 78
800th career victory. 79
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to 80
Coach Knight, forwarded to Athletic Director of William Carey 81
University Tracy English and made available to the Capitol Press 82
Corps. 83