Missouri Southern State University Athletics

Head Coach Jeff Sims enters his second season with the Missouri Southern Football team. Year one saw the Lions go from one of the least productive offenses in Division II to one of the most.

In year one of the Jeff Sims era, the Lions saw the most wins and highest point differential in a three-year period and had the Division II National Player of the Week in Jacob Park against Northeastern State. Southern set the MIAA record with 42 first downs against NSU, while also setting school records with 86 points and 743 total yards at NSU.
 
The Lions also set a single-game record with five passing touchdowns by Park at NSU, while his eight touchdowns responsible for were also a single-game record. Charles West and Keandre Bledsoe set receiving records. West finished the season with 44 receptions, setting the record for most receptions by a running back in a single-season, while Bledsoe set the tight end reception record with 35 catches. The team also saw its first fumble return for a touchdown since 2011, the first kickoff return for a touchdown since 2012 and the first blocked punt for a score since 2015. 
 
The team recorded its highest GPA in more than seven years in the spring of 2019, while working toward a total of more than 878 hours of community service in the Joplin area. Southern also scored 34 points against Northwest Missouri, the second-highest point total allowed by the Bearcats in their previous eight seasons. 

Sims came to the Lions with more than 24 years as a high school and collegiate coach. For the past four seasons, Sims has been the head coach at Garden City where he has led the team to a 32-12 record, including the 2016 Junior College National Championship.
 
In 2018, Garden City finished 10-1 and was the NJCAA National Runner Up and finished the season ranked No. 2 in junior college football. 
 
In his career, Sims has coached more than 51 players to NFL careers, including two first-round NFL Draft picks, (Jason Pierre-Paul and Mike Hughes), well as NFL All-Pro Lavonte Davis. In total, seven players he has coached have been drafted. Two former players, Pierre-Paul and Jacquian Williams, both played for the New York Giants in a Super Bowl victory.
 
Sims has also been the head coach at Fort Scott Community College where he had a 32-12 record and an appearance in the 2009 National Championship. He got his first head coaching experience at Mesabi Range where he had a 13-7 record, including a 10-1 record in 2003.
 
In his career as a junior college head coach, Sims is 77-32, led four teams to undefeated regular seasons, and three National Championship appearances. He was the winningest active coach in the Kansas Junior College Conference. His teams have held the No. 1 National Ranking six times in ten years, and was named the 2016 National Coach of the Year, while earning three KJCC Coach of the Year honors (2009, 2016, 2018). 

It is not all about success on the field as Sims' teams at Garden City have routinely had an overall GPA of 3.00.
 
Sims has also served as the Senior Director of Player Personnel and Recruiting Coordinator at Indiana University, Associate Head Coach at Florida Atlantic University, offensive play caller at Minnesota State - Mankato and Southern Arkansas, and served on the staffs of programs at Central Missouri and Mt. San Antonio.

Sims and his wife Lecia, have three children Dylan, Jake, Samantha. He has an associate’s degree from Bakersfield College, Bachelor of Arts degree in physical education from Baker University, and a Master of Arts degree in marketing from Baker University.