Bill Text: MS HR113 | 2026 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Coach Richard Duease; commend upon retirement from Madison-Ridgeland Academy with third highest win total in high school basketball history.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 2)
Status: (Passed) 2026-03-19 - Enrolled Bill Signed [HR113 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2026-HR113-Engrossed.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Representatives McMillan, Ford (73rd)
House Resolution 113
(As Adopted by House)
A RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING MADISON-RIDGELAND ACADEMY'S COACH RICHARD DUEASE UPON HIS RETIREMENT AFTER 51 YEARS OF COACHING AND UPON BEING ONE OF THE WINNINGEST COACHES IN MISSISSIPPI HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL HISTORY.
WHEREAS, the legendary Coach Richard Duease, head boys basketball coach at Madison-Ridgeland Academy (MRA), coached his final game on February 24, 2026, at the A.E. Woods Coliseum with a win that made MRA's basketball team the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) 2026 Overall Boys Basketball Champions; and
WHEREAS, Coach Duease who began his coaching career in 1975 at Manchester Academy in Yazoo City, Mississippi, is retiring with 51 years of coaching experience, with 44 of those years spent at MRA; and
WHEREAS, remarkably, Coach Duease has the third highest win total in high school basketball history with a record of 1,296-452 across 43 years, as a boys coach, and he also excelled many years as a girls coach, where he compiled a record of 592-271 across 26 seasons, and until 2002, he masterfully coached both girls and boys; and
WHEREAS, Coach Duease, who is a proud Indianola High School, Delta Community College and Mississippi State University graduate, completed his celebrated career with 1,888 wins (1,296 boys and 592 girls) with only 725 losses, which is an impressive 72.3 winning percentage; and
WHEREAS, Coach Duease is retiring with 42 MAIS championships and 16 MAIS Overall Tournament titles (14 boys and two girls), and he has won 1,248 boys' games and 439 girls' games at MRA, and he has won an amazing 10 titles in a 14-year span from 2005 to 2018; and
WHEREAS, also, while at MRA, Coach Duease led the school to a 77-game winning streak from 2008-2011, and guided the program to five consecutive state championships multiple times, which is a testament of his ability to prepare his teams as he broadened the players' knowledge of the game and refined their skills in execution; and
WHEREAS, throughout his iconic career, Coach Duease has been named MAIS Coach of the Year over 30 times, and he was inducted into the MAIS Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006; and
WHEREAS, yet another magnificent highlight of Coach Duease's career was when he became the career-wins leader in Mississippi, in 2017, when he earned his 1,024th career victory to surpass previous record holder Norris Ashley; and
WHEREAS, for over half a century, Coach Duease has superbly coached and inspired thousands of young student-athletes as he helped them develop a winning and cooperative spirit as well as a high degree of sportsmanship both on and off the basketball court, and he has served as an inspiration to his students and colleagues throughout his famed career; and
WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to recognize and commend an iconic and legendary coach such as Coach Duease whose incredible 51-year coaching career will stand as a role model and as an inspiration for generations to come:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend and congratulate Coach Richard Duease upon his retirement from Madison-Ridgeland Academy as one of the winningest coaches in high school basketball history, and wish him continued success in all his future endeavors.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Coach Richard Duease, Madison-Ridgeland Academy's Head of School, Termie Land, and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.
