Simmons named to wrestling hall of fame
In his 25th year of serving Cornell, associate director of athletics Dick Simmons is being inducted into the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division III Hall of Fame.
A native of Brooklyn, Iowa, he is the fourth Cornellian to enter the Hall of Fame. He joins four-time All-American Shawn Voigt (2002 inductee) and coaches Steve DeVries (2011) and Barron Bremner (1993).
Simmons was one of eight 2016 inductees and was selected as a contributor to the sport of wrestling.
“This is very humbling to realize that the people out there recognize what you do for the love of the sport,” Simmons said. “I’ve just always had the mindset to leave the sport in a better place than I found it.”
He was inducted at a ceremony in Cedar Rapids on March 10 during the kickoff for the 2016 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships, where he served as tournament director for the fifth time. That connection is especially appropriate because Simmons is a major reason the championships are held in Cedar Rapids. Cornell has hosted the championships six out of the past nine years, more times than any Division III institution since 1974.
Simmons started Cornell’s sports medicine program when he arrived on the Hilltop in 1991. As head athletic trainer for 17 years, Simmons worked closely early on with DeVries’s wrestling program.
