Rick Simonds was added as an assistant coach prior to the startof the 2012-13 season.
Simonds, a 2010 Saint Joseph's College Athletics Hall of Fameinductee, served as the Monks’ men’s basketball headcoach for 23 seasons and posted an astounding 466-176 (.726) recordwith 11 conference titles and six national tournamentappearances.
Under Simonds, who garnered 15 Coach of the Year honors duringhis career, the Monks posted thirteen 20-win seasons, includingfive straight from 1995-1999. When he left St. Joe’sfollowing the 2002-03 campaign, his winning percentage ranked asthe seventh-best in NCAA DIII Men’s Basketball history andhis wins total is currently 49th among DIII head coaches. Simondsnever suffered a losing season and ranks as the most successfulhead coach in Saint Joseph’s College Athletics history.
Simonds’ crowning achievement came in 1987 when the Monksastounded the basketball world at the NAIA National Championship inKansas City by upsetting Biola College, which was ranked third inthe country with a 29-1 record at the time. The national tourneywin was the first of its kind for an NAIA New England program.
Simonds, who worked as the Athletic Director at SaintJoseph’s for 23 years, graduated from University of SouthernMaine in 1972 with an English degree. While at USM, Simonds earnednine varsity letters as a three-sport standout (basketball,baseball and soccer) and is a member of the Huskies’ Hall ofFame. He was also enshrined in the New England Basketball Hall ofFame in 2009.
Simonds currently teaches English and Creative Writing at BonnyEagle High School and serves as a color announcer for the Maine RedClaws, an NBA Development League of the Boston Celtics. He is alsoan accomplished author who has published a pair of crimenovels.
