Darryl Sims
| No. 99, 91 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Defensive end | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | July 23, 1961 Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||
| Listed weight | 278 lb (126 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school | Bassick (Bridgeport, Connecticut) | ||||||
| College | Wisconsin | ||||||
| NFL draft | 1985: 1st round, 20th overall pick | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Darryl Sims (born June 23, 1961) is an American athletic administrator and former football player. A standout defensive tackle for the Wisconsin Badgers, he played four seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns. After leading the athletic program at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for over a decade, Simms now serves as director of the W Club at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[1]
Early life
[edit]Sims said his mother encouraged him to get involved with sports as a way to stay out of trouble. After two years of high school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, his mother sent him to live with his uncle in Connecticut. Sims graduated from Bassick High School in Bridgeport, Connecticut.[2]
Playing career
[edit]Playing for coach Dave McClain at Wisconsin in 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1984 (he was academically ineligible in 1983), Sims finished 10th in school history, with 39 career tackles for loss and tied for 8th with 17 career sacks. His single-season mark of 24 tackles for loss in 1982 is the third-best single-season number in Wisconsin history. He was a first team All-Big Ten selection in 1981, 1982 and 1984.[3] He helped lead the 1984 Badgers team to the Hall of Fame Bowl. Overall, 16 players from that team went on to play in the NFL, and Sims was one of three first-round draft picks, along with Al Toon and Richard Johnson.
He was selected by the Steelers in the first round of the 1985 NFL draft. His NFL career lasted four seasons, playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1985 to 1986 and the Cleveland Browns from 1987 to 1988.[4]
Coaching career
[edit]After his playing career, Sims coached at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh as well as in NFL Europe for three different teams: assistant coach of the Amsterdam Admirals from 2000 to 2005, head coach of the Cologne Centurions in 2006, and assistant coach of the Berlin Thunder in 2007. His 2005 Amsterdam Admirals won the World Bowl XIII.[5]
He also was assistant defensive line coach with the Oakland Raiders in 2006 under head coach Art Shell.[6]
Administration career
[edit]For the Wisconsin–Oshkosh Titans, Sims served as athletic director and then as assistant chancellor for intercollegiate athletics. Under his tenure, the school won 10 national championships as well as 40 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season titles and 15 tournament titles. As athletic director, Sims oversaw the expansion of the program in which the university added three intercollegiate varsity sports: women's wrestling, women's flag football, and men's soccer. Academically under Sims, Oshkosh athletes earned 30 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America honors and 40 were named WIAC Scholar-Athletes.[7]
In September 2026, Sims announced he was leaving Oshkosh to become the director of the Wisconsin Badgers athletics W Club, replacing Chris Solinsky.[1] The W Club is a membership group that formed in 1948 and serves thousands of alumni athletes.[8]
Personal life
[edit]Sims continued his education for a bachelor's degree in Speech Communication in 2003 and a master's degree in Educational Leadership in 2005, both from Oshkosh.[9]
References
[edit]- 1 2 Steppe, John. "Wisconsin tabs former Badger standout, UW-Oshkosh leader to head W Club". Journal Sentinel. Retrieved September 28, 2026.
- ↑ Bucher, Chris (April 17, 2014). "The path to success". The Advance-Titan (Oshkosh, WI). Retrieved September 30, 2026.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: miscellaneous url (link) - ↑ "Wisconsin Football Countdown: No. 60, Darryl Sims and Bill Ferrario". BadgerOfHonor.com. July 7, 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: miscellaneous url (link) - ↑ "1985 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
- ↑ BGCOintern (January 10, 2025). "Welcome our Newest Board Member Darryl Sims". Boys and Girls Club of Oshkosh. Retrieved September 30, 2026.
- ↑ "Darryl Sims - Assistant Chancellor, Intercollegiate Athletics - Staff Directory". University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Athletics. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
- ↑ Andler, Nolan (September 24, 2026). "Sims departs UWO after 16 years as athletic director". The Advance-Titan. Retrieved September 30, 2026.
- ↑ MILEWSKI, TODD D. (July 12, 2013). "Evolution, reinvention the buzzwords for W Club after losing UW concessions contract". The Capital Times. Retrieved September 30, 2026.
- ↑ "Where are they now? Darryl Sims". archive.jsonline.com. Retrieved September 30, 2026.