Carol Simon returns this year for her 25th season at the helm of
the Brandeis University Judges women’s basketball team. Her
success with the women’s basketball program has garnered her
the designation as one of the most respected Division III coaches
in New England and earned her University Athletic Association
Coaching Staff of the Year honors in 1991-92 and 2004-05.
From her inaugural head coaching season back in 1987, Simon has
led Brandeis to three New England Women’s Eight tournament
titles, three New Eight regular season crowns and three berths in
the ECAC Division III New England tournament, including
back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005, and four straight appearances
in the NCAA Division III tournament from 2006 through 2009. The
2008-09 campaign included the team's historic run to the Elite
Eight, when they earned the right to host the first two rounds of
the tournament before advancing to the sectionals. They finished
the season ranked No. 11 in the nation in Division III in the USA
Today/ESPN poll and 13th in the d3hoops.com poll.
In her 25-year tenure, Simon has recorded 349 wins, including a
152-57 record over the past seven campaigns, a .727 winning
percentage. She notched her 300th career victory in 2008 against
league rival NYU in a 63-60 triumph to end the regular season. As
the winningest coach in Brandeis history, she has coached nine
1,000-point scorers, four All-Americans and two UAA Players of the
Year. Among her recent graduates are Caitlin Malcolm '07, who
became the first Brandeis women's basketball graduate to sign a
professional contract when she joined Killester in the Irish League
in September 2007; Jaime Capra '08, the 2008 UAA Co-Player of the
Year; and most recently, Jessica Chapin '10, the first player named
a WBCA first-team All-American in program history.
Simon has repeatedly proven her successes as a talented
recruiter, program-builder, game strategist and inspirational
leader. Named the New Eight coach of the year in both the 1991-92
and 1992-93 seasons, as well as part of the UAA Coaching Staff of
the Year in 1991-92 and 2004-05. Her dedication to the program is
seen through her intense personal, competitive drive to make the
Brandeis Women’s Basketball team one of the most dominant in
the country.
A native of Middlebury, Connecticut, Simon is a 1985 graduate of
Colby College where she majored in Administrative Science. She was
a member of Colby’s ECAC Division III women’s
basketball championship teams in 1984 and 1985. A three-sport
athlete, she captained the team her senior year, while also serving
as captain of the soccer and softball teams. Perhaps a highlight to
her personal athletic career, Simon represented the United States
in the 1981 World Maccabiah Games. In 2003, Simon earned her
Master’s degree in Management from Brandeis’s Heller
School.
