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You can’t go far in Delaware without running into the Biden name. 

After three decades representing the state in the U.S. Senate and the past four serving as the only president to ever hail from the First State, Joe Biden’s name has been plastered on lots of things. From Wilmington’s train station, a city pool and even his own institute at the University of Delaware, the Biden name is everywhere. In 2018, the whole Biden family lent its name to the service plaza in the middle of I-95 near Newark.

And now, first lady Jill Biden will get a similar honor of her own.

Friday afternoon, Delaware Technical Community College dedicated its recently renovated Student Success Center on the Stanton Campus in honor of the first lady. As a longtime advocate for community colleges, Biden’s connection to Delaware Tech runs deep. She started her career teaching English and writing at the college in 1993, a role she held until 2009 when her husband was elected as President Barack Obama’s vice president. 

“It’s good to be home,” Biden said as she addressed the crowd assembled on campus for the dedication ceremony. “Even though Joe and I have been to God knows how many dedication ceremonies, I never imagined that anything would be named after me.”

She highlighted the critical role community colleges play in creating pathways to well-paying jobs and providing important resources to students in student centers like the Student Success Center. 

“The thing I love about community colleges is [that] they’re flexible, they meet students where they are, and help them to get to where they want to go. That’s driven in part by the devoted professors like those here at Delaware Tech,” Biden said. 

Since becoming first lady, Biden has continued to champion community colleges from her classroom at Northern Virginia Community College, where she still teaches today.

The renovated Student Success Center aims to provide students with a space dedicated to academic support, career counseling and workforce development, echoing many of the educational priorities that Dr. Biden has advocated for during her decades of public service.

Dan Ehmann, vice president and campus director of Stanton Campus, opened the ceremony by emphasizing the significance of the newly renovated space for students and faculty and reflecting on the conditions the school once experienced. 

“I think that she can remember having, you know, leaking windows in her old office down the hall from here, as well as our 1970s pink carpet in the hallways, and its inadequate lighting that was in all of our public spaces,” Ehmann said. “What she would not know, because she left the college in 2009 to do bigger and better things, is that we still had those exact same conditions in this building up until four years ago.”

Congratulations to Nyaire Coleman of Conrad, the Delaware Online Football Athlete of the Week for Week 10 of the season.

The senior rushed 22 times for 97 yards and three TDs and was in on nine tackles in a 34-20 win over Seaford.

Coleman won an online vote over four other nominees. Check out the Week 11 nominees on Monday on Delaware Online and vote for your favorite.

Voting is free and runs Monday through Thursday, with the weekly winner announced each Friday.

The weekly poll is presented by Delaware Orthopaedic Specialists.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline. Follow on X: @BradMyersTNJ. Follow us on Instagram: @DEGameDay

Ole Miss Rebels women’s basketball had its first true road game of the season on Thursday night and passed the test with flying colors.

The No. 19 Rebels (2-1) routed Delaware State on Thursday to the tune of an 80-42 final score in Dover. Ole Miss led at the end of every quarter and had four players score more than 10 points in the win.

Starr Jacobs led the way for the Rebels with 18 points, and she was joined in double digits by Madison Scott, Kennedy Todd-Williams and Sira Thienou who all added 13 points apiece. As a team, Ole Miss outshot Delaware State 48.5 percent to 37 percent from the floor, and the Rebels also went 8-of-21 from beyond the arc (38.1 percent).

Ole Miss has now played in three different locations for its first three games of the season: Paris, Oxford and now Dover. Jacobs was asked after the game if she felt that these different environments will help the Rebels throughout the year as they enter conference play and the postseason.

She’s keeping her goals high as Ole Miss’ ultimate prize is the national championship.

“Most definitely,” Jacobs said. “The schedule definitely helps us, and we’re trying to play in Tampa at the end of the day. I feel like every team we play is making us get better.”

The Rebels have some new faces on this year’s team, but squads led by coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin are usually known for defense, but could an offensive night like Thursday lead to more high-scoring performances down the road?

“It’s coming together,” Jacobs said. “We still have a lot of new pieces around, but it’s coming slowly but surely.”

Ole Miss will now return home to face Jackson State on Monday at the SJB Pavilion in Oxford. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. CT, and the game will be televised on SEC Network+.