Former Boston University Athletic Director John Simpson died Tuesday morning at the age of 85. Simpson headed the BU Athletic Department from 1975-84 and was inducted into the BU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000.
“I am deeply saddened to hear the news of John Simpson’s passing,” current BU AD Mike Lynch said in a released statement. “John set a high standard of excellence for Terrier teams, coaches and student-athletes that has left a lasting imprint on Boston University Athletics. John was full of such life and energy, always warm and welcoming. He will forever be a Terrier. My thoughts are with his wife, Dottie, and his family.”
Perhaps Simpson’s biggest accomplishment during his time as AD was the expansion of women’s sports at BU under Title IX. Simpson helped four women’s teams (tennis, track and field, cross country and field hockey) become official varsity squads by 1979.
Some of his other more notable accomplishments also stemmed from the big names he brought to campus as coaches. One of the biggest names of the bunch was Rick Pitino, who Simpson hired in 1976 to head the men’s basketball team. That was the first collegiate head coaching job for Pitino, who has since moved on to becoming the first coach to lead three teams to the Final Four. Simpson also hired Joan Benoit, who served as the women’s track team coach from 1981-83 before becoming the first woman to ever win Olympic gold in the marathon in the 1984 summer games, as well as the man who has served as BU’s wrestling coach for almost 30 years in Carl Adams.
Also on Simpson’s resume was the 1978 NCAA championship that the men’s hockey team won during his time as head of BU athletics.
Simpson was no stranger to BU even before being named director of athletics. After serving in the Marine Corps., he was a four-year member of the BU football team from 1946 until he graduated in 1950 and was a successful member at that. Simpson’s football teams went a combined 22-9-1 in his four years on the gridiron.