Jason Simms currently serves as the Associate Athletics Director for Student Engagement, Alumni Relations, & Recruitment. In this role, he manages an annual and major giving portfolio of 100+ alumni focusing on alumni engagement and alumni giving campaigns while delivering Student-Athlete Development, Career, and Life after sport focused programming and initiatives. Additionally, he is the Athletics Department DEI initiatives liaison. Simms is the sport administrator for Men’s & Women’s Swimming, Men’s Soccer, and Women’s Lacrosse.
Simms can be found meeting with many potential student-athletes, conducting presentations on “life after sport and the power of the W&M Network”. He continues this work once student-athletes join the Tribe, serving as an advisor to SAAC.
Until 2019, he served as the Associate Athletics Director for Academic Services, overseeing the department’s academic support services unit, which assists with course scheduling, student development, academic, and career planning for all 23 NCAA varsity athletic teams at William & Mary. During his tenure, which began in 2007, Simms assisted with recruiting and guiding W&M student athletes to some of the highest team GPA’s in program history. Simms also served as the sport administrator for Women's Basketball, Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Men’s Tennis.
In addition to his role at W&M, Simms most recently completed serving three years of a four-year term as the Chair of the NCAA Division I National Field Hockey Committee from 2013-17. Additionally, he is an active member of the National Association of Athletic Academic Advisors (N4A) and has been involved with the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA).
Simms brought a diverse background to the W&M Athletics Department from his work at Salisbury University where he acted as the Associate Dean of Admissions as well as the Director of Minority Recruitment. In regards to athletics, Simms worked as the Admissions Athletics Liaison and an Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach for the SU Sea Gulls.
As an assistant basketball coach for Salisbury University, Simms advised and scheduled classes for student-athletes during registration periods, monitored mandatory study hall sessions, and provided academic guidance throughout the semester. During his work as the admissions-athletic liaison, he coordinated relationships between teams, coaching staff, enrollment management, as well as assisted the Director of Athletics with NCAA compliance and eligibility requirements.
Simms attended Frostburg State University, graduating in 1994 with a B.S. in Business Administration. An excellent student athlete himself, he was a member of both the basketball and baseball teams at FSU from 1990-1994. He served as team captain of the basketball team during the 1993-1994 season and received the team MVP award. Simms also captained the baseball team during the 1994 season while earning the baseball team MVP award both as a junior and senior. Simms was inducted into the Loudoun Valley High School (LVHS) Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011. He shares the honor of being in the Loudoun Valley Athletics Hall of Fame with former W&M Head Football Coach, Jimmye Laycock.
Simms earned his Masters of Education in Guidance and Counseling in 2002 from the University of Maryland - Eastern Shore.
Simms and his family, which includes Briana and their daughter, Jillian, reside in Williamsburg.
