Hired in July as Allegheny’s 18th head men’s basketball coach, Bob Simmons brings an extensive, and impressive, coaching background to Meadville.

A 20-year coaching veteran, Simmons has served as the head coach at a pair of Division III institutions, and as a top assistant coach at Division I schools Lehigh and Ball State. Most recently, he was head coach at Marywood University in Scranton, Pa., for two seasons, and helped to turn around the team’s won-loss record. Taking over a team that won eight games in the season prior to his arrival, Simmons led the Pacers to 14 wins in 2014-15, the second most in program history.

Coaching a team on the upswing at a school located less than 45 minutes from his hometown of Hazleton, Simmons was content there. However, when he saw the opening at Allegheny, he jumped at the opportunity, he said.

“I had known about Allegheny for a long time,” said Simmons, who first learned of the College in 1995 after working at a summer camp alongside former Gator head coach, Phil Ness. “I knew Meadville was a great community to live in, I knew the academics were very high and I knew there had been success here basketball-wise. I started doing some more research, and it was clear that Allegheny offered the things that are most important to my wife and me.”

After his initial phone interview with Director of Athletics and Recreation Portia Hoeg, Simmons was determined to land the job.

“Portia and I really clicked on the phone interview,” he said. “I loved her vision, and her passion for not only winning, but winning the right way. Everything just aligned for me, and I knew I had to go after this opportunity as hard as I could.

“Once I got to campus for my interview,” he recounted, “I got not only to see this beautiful campus and buildings up close, but I got to meet the people inside of them. Once I got to meet the people, it was a no-brainer. It’s not just about the buildings, the campus, and the reputation – it’s all of that, plus the people. Driving home from my interview that night, I told myself that I cannot lose this job.”

Hoeg was equally as impressed with Simmons, and felt early on in the interview process that he could be a great fit.

“Throughout his coaching career,” Hoeg said, “his teams have enjoyed success not only on the court, but also in the classroom. In talking to him from the start, it was clear that he is extremely committed to the mission and values of both Allegheny College and NCAA Division III.”

Prior to his work at Marywood, Simmons served as a top assistant coach at college basketball’s highest level, spending five years at Lehigh and six at Ball State.

While he acknowledged that coaching at the D-I level was a dream come true, he welcomed a return to Division III, at which he played during his undergraduate years at Wilkes University, and where he began his coaching career as an assistant at Lebanon Valley College.

“I spent 11 years at Division I, and it was a great opportunity and experience,” he said. “From a young age, coaching at the highest level is the goal. But it’s funny, because life changes. You get older, get married, have children and the things that were important to you change. I enjoyed my time at D-I. I learned a lot, and made a lot of great friends who I’m still close with today. But what brought me back to D-III is that it remains the purest form of basketball that is out there.

“These young men and women play basketball truly for the love of the game, and nothing else,” he continued. “Sure, they may get a couple T-shirts, a sweat suit, and a pair of shoes, but they’re paying to be here. They’re students first, athletes second, and take pride in that. I was a Division III athlete at Wilkes. It’s who I am, and what I am. I wanted to come back to what I call my roots and make a difference in the lives of these young men and women whom I’m blessed to be around.”

Drawn to the coaching profession by a lifelong love for basketball, Simmons has had a number of influences in his career.

He keeps in touch with his freshman high school coach Stevie Fiore; owes his initial passion for coaching to Tim Grazio, his assistant coach at Wilkes; and remains forever grateful to his first boss, Lebanon Valley head coach, Brad McAlester. But, Simmons is quick to say, it was his parents who instilled in him the traits that have allowed him success as a coach.

“My mom ran the house,” Simmons said, “taking care of my sister and me while my dad was away in the Navy. She had an incredible commitment to us, with an unbelievable work ethic and competitiveness. She’s a smaller woman, but there’s a lot of fight in her.

“My dad is such a hard-working man, and a family man. He had to travel to a lot of different places during his time in the Navy, but he never wanted to move us all over. He made the sacrifices to allow us to stay home while he traveled.”

Simmons gives his father credit for his enjoyment of recruiting student-athletes.

“One of his jobs in the military, when he wasn’t away on the ship, was as a recruiter,” Simmons said. “I was around recruiting from a very young age, whether I was listening to him on the phone, watching his interactions in the office, or stuffing envelopes for him for mailings.”

Upon his hiring, Simmons was eager to meet the members of the Gator basketball team.

“What really stood out to me when I first talked with our guys on the phone was their level of intelligence,” Simmons said.

“The questions they asked were on a different level than any of the other places I’ve been. Their level of maturity really impressed me, and then after I got a chance to meet them in person, you could immediately see their desire and commitment to be successful, and their hunger to win. I couldn’t wait to start working with them.”

Having officially started his position at Allegheny in late July, Simmons is familiarizing himself with his surroundings. However, he was effusive when expressing how the Allegheny community has embraced his wife, Deb, and daughters, Hanah and Isabella.

“The people on campus and in the community have made us feel very welcomed,” he said. “We feel very much at home, and very comfortable. We’re looking to get involved as much as we can, not just on campus, but as an active participant in the community.”

Getting prepared for the season while still acquainting himself with his position was a bit of a whirlwind for Simmons, but he is more than ready to embark on his first season as a Gator coach. Instilling a theme of family among his team, he is eager to work with a group that impressed him during the preseason acclimation period.

“They’ve done a great job doing everything we’ve asked them to during the preseason,” he said. “From the study halls to the strength-and-conditioning program, they’ve bought into everything that we’ve been preaching, and in my experiences, when that happens, success is going to follow.”

Simmons inherited a veteran-laden team coming off of an 11-15 season in which it qualified for the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament for the first time in three seasons. However, his goals involve more than just the win/loss record.

“My goals are very simple,” he said. “First is to graduate our players. Second is to win in the classroom, on the court, and in the community. Third, when the game is over, I want people to say that our men competed hard, were well-prepared, and represented Allegheny and its alumni in a positive manner.”

By

Jim Berger

Photos by

Ed Mailliard

New Men’s

Basketball Coach

Courts Success