Delta Apparel Appoints Deb Merrill as Chief Financial Officer; Names David Palmer as Vice President, Business Planning

DULUTH, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 31, 2006--Delta Apparel Inc. (AMEX: DLA) announced today that Deborah H. Merrill has been named Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer effective immediately. The company also announced that David R. Palmer has joined Delta Apparel, Inc. as Vice President of Business Planning. Both executives will report to Bob Humphreys, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Ms. Merrill will be responsible for the day-to-day fiscal management of the Company, including financial policies and planning, public reporting and investor relations, tax compliance and strategies, and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. She has been with Delta Apparel since 1998, has served as Assistant Secretary since 1999. In 2004 she assumed the responsibilities of Director of Corporate Reporting, Planning and Administration and earlier this year, Deb was promoted to Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer & Treasurer. Prior to joining Delta Apparel, she served as the Logistics Controller for GNB Technologies and as an Auditor for Deloitte & Touche. Deb holds a B. S. in Accounting and is a CPA.

In his new role as Vice President of Business Planning, Mr. Palmer will coordinate business planning for Delta Apparel's business units and identify future growth opportunities for the Company. In addition, he will coordinate the Company's industrial engineering efforts, as well as provide leadership in developing Delta Apparel's future information technology strategies. David comes to Delta Apparel with over twenty years of experience in the textile apparel industry in a variety of financial management positions.

Robert W. Humphreys, President and CEO commented, "We are proud to promote Deb to the CFO position as well as welcome David to the company. Deb has been an invaluable member of our management team in a variety of financial positions over the past eight years and we are pleased to appoint her to the CFO position within our organization. We are also pleased that David has joined our executive management team. He has significant experience working in the textile fabrics business and will bring considerable depth to our organization in the business planning capacity. I am confident that both of these individuals will serve us well in their new roles and that their insight will be instrumental in leading Delta Apparel through its next stage of growth."

About Delta Apparel, Inc.

Delta Apparel, Inc., along with its wholly owned subsidiaries, M. J. Soffe Company and Junkfood Clothing Company, is a marketer, manufacturer and distributor of high quality branded and private label activewear apparel. The Company specializes in selling a variety of casual and athletic activewear tops and bottoms, embellished and unembellished T-shirts, and fleece products for the ever-changing apparel market. The Company focuses on its broad distribution of apparel products to specialty and boutique stores, high-end and mid-tier retail stores, sporting goods stores, screen printers, and private label accounts. In addition, certain products are sold in college bookstores and to the U.S. Military. The Company's operations are in the United States, Honduras and Mexico and it employs approximately 3,900 people worldwide. Additional information on the company is available at www.deltaapparel.com.

CONTACT: Delta Apparel, Inc., Duluth
Company Contact:
Bob Humphreys, 678-775-6900
or
ICR, Inc.
Investor Relations Contact:
Bill Zima, 203-682-8200

SOURCE: Delta Apparel, Inc.