EXHIBIT 99.1

   DELTA APPAREL ANNOUNCES RECORD SALES FOR THIRD QUARTER OF FISCAL YEAR 2003

DULUTH,  Ga.--(BUSINESS  WIRE)--April 22, 2003--Delta  Apparel,  Inc. (AMEX-DLA)
announces  record sales of $33.9 million for the third fiscal  quarter of fiscal
year 2003, a 3.1% increase from the prior year third fiscal quarter.

The sales increase of $1.0 million over the prior year quarter was the result of
a 10.4%  increase  in volume,  partially  offset by a 6.6%  decrease  in average
selling  prices.  Sales of  heavyweight  adult and youth  short  sleeve tees and
private label programs drove the volume increase for the quarter.  Lower average
selling prices were primarily the result of price  promotions on the basic adult
short sleeve white and colored tees.  Operating  income was $2.6 million for the
quarter,  a decrease of $0.5 million,  or 16.7%,  from $3.1 million in the third
fiscal quarter of the prior year. The decrease resulted primarily from the lower
selling  prices,  partially  offset  by lower raw  material  costs,  and  higher
distribution costs, driven from the February opening of the Florida distribution
center.  In addition,  the Company began  producing  dyed fabric at its Fayette,
Alabama plant during the quarter.  This led to an increase in off-quality  costs
due to the initial trials of the dyeing equipment.

Interest  expense was $0.2 million for the quarter,  an increase of $51,000 from
the prior year  quarter.  The  increase in  interest  expense  resulted  from an
increase of  approximately  $5.4 million in average debt  outstanding,  slightly
offset by a reduction in the average  interest  rates.  The higher  average debt
outstanding  was the  result of the higher  accounts  receivable  and  inventory
levels during the quarter.

The effective  income tax rate on pretax income for the three months ended March
29, 2003 was 38.3%,  compared to 37.1% for the third fiscal quarter of the prior
year and 33.0% for the fiscal year ended June 29, 2002. In fiscal year 2002, the
Company  reversed  the  valuation  allowance  against  its  net  operating  loss
carryforwards, resulting in the effective tax rate of 33.0%. The Company expects
its annualized  effective tax rate to more closely  approximate  statutory rates
for fiscal year 2003.

Net  earnings  for the quarter were $1.5  million,  or 4.4% of sales,  down $0.4
million from the prior year  quarter.  Basic and diluted  earnings per share for
the quarter  ended March 29, 2003 were $0.37 and $0.35 per share on 4.05 million
and 4.21 million shares, respectively.  Basic and diluted earnings per share for
the quarter  ended March 30, 2002 were $0.46 and $0.43 on 4.08  million and 4.32
million  shares,  respectively  (after  giving effect to the 2-for-1 stock split
effective as of September  20,  2002).  On March 29, 2003,  the Company had 4.01
million shares outstanding.

Sales for the first nine months of fiscal year 2003 were $92.8 million,  up $4.5
million,  or 5.2%,  from the first nine months of the prior  year.  For the nine
months ended March 29,  2003,  operating  earnings  were $7.7  million,  up $3.0
million from the first nine months of the prior year.

Interest  expense was $0.5  million for the nine  months  ended March 29,  2003,
which is  consistent  with the first nine  months of last year.  Higher  average
borrowings,  offset by a decrease in average interest rates resulted in interest
expense being consistent with the prior year.

Net earnings for the first nine months of fiscal year 2003 were $4.4 million, up
$1.8 million from the first nine months of last year. Basic and diluted earnings
per share for the nine  months  ended  March 29,  2003 were  $1.09 and $1.05 per
share, respectively. For the nine months ended March 30, 3002, basic and diluted
earnings per share were $0.58 and $0.55 per share, respectively.

Accounts receivable  increased $2.9 million from March 30, 2002 to $20.2 million
on March 29, 2003.  The increase was a result of higher sales during the current
year quarter and higher days sales outstanding.

Inventories  on March 29, 2003 were $50.4  million,  consistent  with  inventory
levels on December 28, 2002. Inventory has increased $14.9 million from June 29,
2002 and has increased  $11.0  million from the prior year quarter.  The Company
built  higher  levels of  inventory in the first half of the year to prepare for
the opening of its Florida distribution center which occurred during the current
quarter,  causing finished goods to increase by $2.8 million from the prior year
quarter.  Although  in-process  inventory  continued to be higher than the prior
year  quarter  and June 29,  2002,  it  remained  consistent  with the  level at
December 28, 2002. The Company expects in-process inventory to remain at current
levels as it continues to produce more products to support the new  distribution
center and its anticipated  sales growth for fiscal year 2003. The Company's raw
material  inventory  decreased  $1.8  million  during the  quarter,  although it
remained  higher  than at June 29,  2002.  The  Company  had  increased  its raw
material  inventory since June 29, 2002 to take advantage of lower cotton prices
and to support its increased textile capacity.  The Company expects raw material
inventories to decrease significantly during the fourth fiscal quarter.

The Company  purchased  81,500 shares of its stock through its Stock  Repurchase
Program  during  the  quarter  ended  March  29,  2003 for a total  cost of $1.2
million. For the nine months ended March 29, 2003, the Company purchased 130,204
shares for a total cost of $1.9 million.

Robert W.  Humphreys,  President and CEO,  commented,  "We are excited about the
record sales  achieved in the third  quarter,  particularly  given the difficult
retail environment. We expect to continue our growth in the final quarter of our
fiscal  year.  Our new  Florida  distribution  center  opened  in  February  and
shipments  were made to our customers the same month.  The Florida  distribution
center should further  contribute to our sales growth in the fourth quarter.  We
introduced  dyeing in our Fayette,  Alabama  facility which will give us greater
manufacturing flexibility in the future, though we did experience higher quality
and yield costs during the quarter due to the startup."

Delta Apparel, Inc. is a vertically integrated manufacturer and marketer of high
quality knit apparel.  The Company specializes in selling undecorated  T-shirts,
golf  shirts  and tank tops to  screen  printers,  private  label  accounts  and
distributors.  Delta Apparel has operations in six states, two  company-operated
sewing  facilities  in  Honduras  and one  company-operated  sewing  facility in
Mexico. The Company employs about 3,200 worldwide.

Statements  and other  information  in this press  release that are not reported
financial   results  or  other   historical   information  are   forward-looking
statements.  These are based on Delta Apparel's expectations and are necessarily
dependent  upon  assumptions,  estimates and data that the Company  believes are
reasonable  and  accurate  but  may  be  incorrect,   incomplete  or  imprecise.
Forward-looking  statements  are also subject to a number of business  risks and
uncertainties, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from
those set forth in or implied by the forward-looking  statements.  The risks and
uncertainties  include,  among others,  changes in the retail demand for apparel
products,  the cost of raw materials,  competitive conditions in the apparel and
textile industries, the relative strength of the United States dollar as against
other currencies,  changes in United States trade regulations,  the discovery of
unknown  conditions (such as with respect to  environmental  matters and similar
items) and other  risks  described  from time to time in the  Company's  reports
filed  with  the   Securities   and  Exchange   Commission.   Accordingly,   any
forward-looking  statements do not purport to be predictions of future events or
circumstances and may not be realized.  The Company does not undertake  publicly
to update or revise the forward-looking statements even if it becomes clear that
any projected results will not be realized.

Contact:        Delta Apparel, Inc.
                Herb Mueller    678/775-6948






SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA:
(In thousands, except per share amounts)


                                                          THREE MONTHS ENDED                      NINE MONTHS ENDED

                                                     MAR 29,              MAR 30,            MAR 29,              MAR 30,
                                                       2003                2002               2003                  2002
                                                -------------------  ------------------ ------------------    -----------------

                                                                                                     
NET SALES                                        $         33,870      $        32,860    $       92,755         $      88,211
COST OF GOODS SOLD                                         27,755               26,618            75,515                75,261
                                                -------------------  ------------------ ------------------    -----------------
GROSS MARGIN                                                6,115                6,242            17,240                12,950

SG&A                                                        3,486                3,076             9,354                 8,416
OTHER EXPENSE (INCOME)                                         12                   25               154                  (149)
                                                -------------------  ------------------ ------------------    -----------------
OPERATING INCOME                                            2,617                3,141             7,732                 4,683

INTEREST EXPENSE                                              209                  157               527                   524
TAXES                                                         923                1,106             2,774                 1,540
                                                -------------------  ------------------ ------------------    -----------------
NET INCOME                                        $         1,485      $         1,878    $        4,431         $       2,619
                                                ===================  ================== ==================    =================


WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING *
  BASIC                                                     4,053                4,075             4,056                 4,495
  DILUTED                                                   4,207                4,319             4,205                 4,725

NET INCOME PER COMMON SHARE
  BASIC                                           $          0.37      $          0.46    $         1.09         $        0.58
  DILUTED                                         $          0.35      $          0.43    $         1.05         $        0.55


                                                                          MAR 29,           JUNE 29,              MAR 30,
                                                                           2003               2002                  2002
                                                                     ------------------ ------------------    -----------------
CURRENT ASSETS
  CASH                                                                 $           228    $        4,102         $         795
  RECEIVABLES, NET                                                              20,238            22,812                17,355
  INCOME TAX RECEIVABLE                                                            667                 -                     -
  INVENTORIES                                                                   50,373            35,483                39,363
  DEFERRED INCOME TAXES                                                            695             1,119                 1,261
  OTHER ASSETS                                                                   1,745             1,835                   819
                                                                     ------------------ ------------------    -----------------
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS                                                            73,946            65,351                59,593

NONCURRENT ASSETS
  PROPERTY, PLANT & EQUIPMENT, NET                                              22,157            22,992                21,170
  OTHER NONCURRENT ASSETS                                                           68                 3                    52
                                                                     ------------------ ------------------    -----------------
TOTAL NONCURRENT ASSETS                                                         22,225            22,995                21,222

                                                                     ------------------ ------------------    -----------------
TOTAL ASSETS                                                            $       96,171    $       88,346         $      80,815
                                                                     ================== ==================    =================


CURRENT LIABILITIES
  CURRENT PORTION OF LONG TERM DEBT                                     $        2,000    $        2,000         $       2,000
  INCOME TAX PAYABLE                                                                 -             1,860                 1,661
  OTHER CURRENT LIABILITIES                                                     17,987            17,718                12,514
                                                                     ------------------ ------------------    -----------------
TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES                                                       19,987            21,578                16,175

NONCURRENT LIABILITIES
  LONG-TERM DEBT                                                                 9,909             3,667                 5,917
  DEFERRED INCOME TAXES                                                            722               700                   608
  OTHER NONCURRENT LIABILITIES                                                   1,371             1,123                 1,079
                                                                    ------------------ ------------------    -----------------
TOTAL NONCURRENT LIABILITIES                                                    12,002             5,490                 7,604

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY                                                            64,182            61,278                57,036

                                                                     ------------------ ------------------    -----------------
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY                             $        96,171    $       88,346        $       80,815
                                                                     ================== ==================    =================


*  ADJUSTED FOR 2-FOR-1 STOCK SPLIT EFFECTIVE AS OF SEPTEMBER 20, 2002