CLEVELAND, Miss. — Delta State men’s basketball coach Jim Boone has resigned to take the same position at Arkansas-Fort Smith, DSU director of athletics Mike Kinnison announced Tuesday.

Boone spent the past seven seasons at Delta State. He compiled a 128-85 record, with three trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament. He led Delta State to the 2019 Gulf South Conference tournament championship and the 2013-2014 GSC Regular Season title.

In all, Boone has coached for 33 years at the NCAA Division I and Division II levels. He has 558 career wins, which ranks 14th among active NCAA Division II coaches.

Boone inherits an Arkansas-Fort Smith team that had only one senior on its 12-player roster. The Lions finished 10-19 overall and 4-12 in the Heartland Conference, and earned their eighth consecutive berth in the Heartland Conference Tournament, losing to eventual tournament runner-up Dallas Baptist in the first round.

“Our vision is to build a championship quality program, a program that will compete for conference, regional and national prominence. We do not have a specific time-table or short-range goals, but I can tell you that we will hit the ground running to create a championship culture that will produce a program that has the foundation to last, a program that will be built with great integrity,” Boone said in a statement. “And, we will produce a championship-caliber program that will be among the nation’s elite, a program that our university and our community will be very proud of.”