Dr. Sid Simpson, a Dumas native and a 1945 Dumas High School graduate, was honored on July 9, 2021 by being inducted into the Arkansas Activities Association Athletic Directors Hall of Fame as a result of his success and contributions in his career as a coach, athletic director, and public school administrator.
Simpson’s 41-year career began by serving six years as coach at Watson Chapel High School before moving to Texas where he was hired as high school basketball coaching positions in Crocket, Gaston, and later to Denison High School.
Dr. Simpson and his family moved to Abilene, Texas in the early sixties where he took on the job of assistant coach in football and basketball at McMurry College (now McMurry University). After 2 years he temporarily left coaching when he was named McMurry’s Dean of Men.
Two years later, Simpson was recruited by the board of the newly built Grayson College in Sherman, Texas to be The Grayson Vikings’ first Head Coach and Athletic Director as well as developing the entire physical education department.
Eager to return to coaching, Simpson accepted their offer and over the next several years built a strong program in basketball, baseball and golf for the college.
His next project began as he chose to work on obtaining a Doctor of Education Administration degree at North Texas State University (now University of North Texas) in Denton where he also supervised the athletic dormitory.
After he was awarded his Doctor of Education, Simpson was hired by Western Texas College (WTC) in Snyder to repeat the process of building a new college’s athletic program by serving as its first Head Coach, Athletic Director, and Physical
Education Department Head.
The WTC program was very successful and won championships in both men’s and women’s basketball and golf teams. One of his most extraordinary hires as Athletic Director was a high school basketball coach from El Paso, Nolan Richardson. Six years later, Simpson and wife, Hattie (Culpepper) Simpson, returned to Arkansas to care for her aging parents. Simpson’s first job upon his return to Arkansas was as the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference Commissioner. He then served as Athletic Director at The University of Central Arkansas for two years before coming back as Athletic and Activities Director for Pine Bluff High School. During this time, Dr. Simpson assembled coaching staff at P.B.H.S. which garnered 39 conference and state championships as well as being Co-Founder and consultant for establishing the King Cotton Basketball Tournament that brought our nation’s best high school teams to play in Pine Bluff.
Dr. Simpson is retired and living in Springdale, Arkansas now, but is proud to have given some great high school coaches their first college coaching jobs. This would include Ron Marvel from UCA and Nolan Richardson of The University of Arkansas (who has also been inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame) as well as Billy Bock who was inducted into the Arkansas Baseball Hall of Fame. Simpson is also the first recipient of The Hayes and Kaaren Biggs Humanitarian Award (2013) nominated by Nolan Richardson. Dr. Simpson was nominated for the Hall of Fame by former Razorback Assistant Coach, Wayne Stehlik. Dr. Simpson says he is humbled by the honor bestowed on him but is also extremely blessed to have been married to the love of his life for almost 70 years, having a loving family, and a deep faith.
