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Syracuse University has been playing lacrosse for 100 years, and what better way to celebrate than by honoring the father-son combination that got the program to where it is today.
Syracuse will build a statue honoring coaching legends Roy Simmons and Roy Simmons Jr., as first reported by Lindsay Kramer of Syracuse.com.
The project is orchestrated by Matt Palumb, Syracuse's assistant athletic director of development and former SU goalie. Palumb says he wants the statue up in the next year and a half, and that most if not all of the $200,000 price tag will be covered by donations.
The Simmons's commemoration will join the Syracuse statue family of Ben Schwartzwalder, Ernie Davis, Jim Brown and Floyd Little at Ensley Athletic Center. Brian Hanlon, the same sculptor who made the previous four, has been given the job.
Syracuse may have gotten a little statue crazy over the past few years, but the Simmons family is well beyond deserving of a big rock. After earning All-American honors as a player in 1924, Simmons Sr. took over the Orange in 1931 and coached SU until handing the reigns over to Simmons Jr. in 1971. He went 253-130-1 as a coach and was elected to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1964. Oh, and as a student he led the Orange football team to a 22-4-3 record in three years as the team's quarterback while also playing baseball, basketball and boxing.
As for Simmons Jr., he was an honorable mention All-American in 1957 and 1958 under his father. He and Jim Brown led the Orange to an undefeated season in '57, but still finished second in the polls to Johns Hopkins. After graduating, Simmons Jr. coached the Syracuse freshman team for 12 years before taking over as head coach in 1971. Simmons Jr. led the Orange to six national championships, 16 consecutive final fours and two undefeated seasons. He coached 130 All-Americans and left the team in 1998 with a record of 290-96. In 1991, he joined his father in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
Combined, the Simmons family has a coaching record of 543-226-1 (that's over 70 percent of games won for those of you who forgot your pocket calculators at home). They are two of only 27 coaches to win 250 games.