Roy Simmons Jr., Lacrosse, 1956-1958
Attack
Syracuse, N.Y.
Roy Simmons Jr. played at SU, where he was the second leading scored behind Jim Brown in 1957. He is better known for his outstanding 28 years of coaching at Syracuse. He ranks third on the NCAA Division I Winningest Coaches of All-Time with a record 290-96. He is the only coach to have won six NCAA Division I National Championships (1983, ’88, ’89,’90, ’93 and ’95) and he is one of two coaches to have won three consecutive NCAA Division I National Championships. He coached 131 All-Americans and five National Players of the Year. He was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1991. Simmons and his father are the only father-son combination inducted into the Greater Syracuase Sports Hall of Fame.
Career: Served as SU’s freshman head coach and assistant varsity for 12 years under his father, Roy Simmons Sr…Received the F. Morris Touchstone Trophy (Division I Coach of the Year) in 1980… Coached the North/South Collegiate All-Star game (1980)…Coached in 16 consecutive Final Fours…Inducted into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame in 1991…Inducted into the US Lacrosse Upstate New York Chapter Hall of Fame in 1991.
Senior Year (1958): Earned honorable mention as an All-American…Elected captain…Played for the North team in the North/South Collegiate All-Star game.
Junior Year (1957): Earned honorable mention as a All-American…Member of SU’s 10-0 team, the first to have a perfect season since 1922.
Personal: Played three years varsity lacrosse at Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire...Selected as a Syracuse Letterman of Distinction in 1984…Lives in Fayetteville, N.Y. with his wife…His son, Roy Simmons III is currently on the SU lacrosse coaching staff...The Roy Simmons, Jr. Endowed Lacrosse Scholarship was created in 2005 to help provide the essential scholarship support needed to recruit and retain the most talented student-athletes.
