Martin Ray “Marty” Simmons (born February 21, 1965) is an American basketball coach and former player best known in Evansville for his long association with the University of Evansville Purple Aces. Simmons starred for the Aces during the 1980s, later served as an assistant coach and returned as the program’s head coach from 2007 to 2018.
One of the most accomplished players of Evansville’s early Division I era, Simmons later coached the Aces to the 2015 CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) Championship, the program’s first postseason tournament championship of the Division I era.
Early Life
Simmons grew up in Lawrenceville, Illinois, where he became one of the greatest high school basketball players in Illinois history.
Known by the nickname “Mule,” Simmons scored 2,986 career points at Lawrenceville High School and led the school to consecutive Illinois Class A state championships.
He was named Illinois Mr. Basketball in 1983.
Indiana University
Simmons began his college career at Indiana University, playing for legendary coach Bob Knight.
As a freshman, Simmons was a significant contributor to the 1983-84 Hoosiers, who reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
Indiana advanced to the championship game of the National Invitation Tournament the following season.
During that 1985 NIT run, Indiana assistant coach Jim Crews was hired as head coach at the University of Evansville.
Simmons soon decided to follow Crews to Evansville.
University of Evansville Playing Career
Simmons transferred to the University of Evansville in 1985.
Although NCAA transfer rules required him to sit out the 1985-86 season, his leadership was already apparent: Simmons was designated a team captain while sitting out the season.
When he became eligible in 1986-87, Simmons immediately became the centerpiece of the Purple Aces.
As a junior, he averaged 22.4 points per game and helped Evansville finish in a first-place tie in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference.
Simmons was even better as a senior.
During the 1987-88 season, he averaged 25.9 points per game, finishing sixth nationally in scoring. He scored 750 points that season, one of the highest single-season totals in University of Evansville history.
Simmons helped lead the Aces to a 21-8 record and an appearance in the 1988 National Invitation Tournament.
Evansville defeated Utah in the opening round, giving UE its first postseason victory since moving to NCAA Division I.
Simmons was named First-Team All-Midwestern Collegiate Conference in both of his seasons with the Aces and finished ninth in voting for the Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year as a senior.
Despite playing only two seasons at Evansville, Simmons scored 1,265 points.
He graduated from the University of Evansville with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1987 and later earned his MBA from UE in 1993.
Professional Basketball
Following his Evansville career, Simmons played professionally.
He spent the 1988-89 season with the La Crosse Catbirds of the Continental Basketball Association and later played for the Illinois Express in the World Basketball League, where he earned All-Star recognition.
His professional playing career was relatively brief, and Simmons soon returned to the place where he had enjoyed his greatest collegiate success.
Return to Evansville as a Coach
Simmons returned to the University of Evansville in 1990, joining Jim Crews’ coaching staff.
He remained with the Aces through 1996 before spending one season as head coach at Wartburg College.
Simmons returned to UE as a full-time assistant in 1997 and remained through 2002.
During his years as an Evansville assistant, the Aces reached the NCAA Tournament in 1992, 1993 and 1999 and the NIT in 1994.
Evansville also captured conference regular-season and tournament championships during his time on the staff.
As recruiting coordinator, Simmons helped bring numerous talented players to Evansville, including several who eventually played professional basketball.
SIU Edwardsville
In 2002, Simmons left Evansville to become head coach at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
He steadily built SIUE into a successful NCAA Division II program.
His 2005-06 Cougars went 25-8 and advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. Simmons compiled an 89-58 record during his five seasons at SIUE.
His success there eventually created an opportunity for another homecoming.
Head Coach of the Purple Aces
In 2007, the University of Evansville hired Simmons as its head men’s basketball coach.
It was a natural fit: one of the most popular players in the school’s Division I history was now responsible for leading his alma mater.
Simmons inherited a struggling program that had won just 10 games the previous season.
His first team went 9-21, but the Aces improved to 17-14 in his second season and earned a postseason appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
Over the following years, Simmons gradually rebuilt Evansville into a competitive Missouri Valley Conference program.
Colt Ryan Era
One of the defining players of Simmons’ tenure was Colt Ryan, who developed into one of the greatest scorers in Purple Aces history.
Under Simmons, Ryan finished his career with 2,279 points, at the time the University of Evansville career scoring record.
The 2012-13 Aces went 21-15 and made a significant postseason run in the CIT.
Evansville went 3-1 in the tournament, giving the Aces their most postseason victories in a season since the program’s 1971 NCAA College Division National Championship.
That team also swept eventual Final Four participant Wichita State during the regular season.
2015 CIT Championship
Simmons’ biggest accomplishment as Evansville’s head coach came during the 2014-15 season.
Led by stars D.J. Balentine and Egidijus Mockevicius, Evansville finished 24-12 and accepted an invitation to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
The Aces defeated:
- IPFW
- Eastern Illinois
- Louisiana-Lafayette
- UT Martin
Those victories put Evansville into the CIT championship game against Northern Arizona at the Ford Center in downtown Evansville.
On April 2, 2015, the Aces defeated Northern Arizona 71-65 in front of their hometown fans to capture the CIT Championship.
Evansville went a perfect 5-0 in the tournament.
The championship was particularly meaningful for Simmons. He had returned to the school where he had once starred as a player and delivered the Purple Aces their first postseason tournament championship since UE moved to NCAA Division I.
The city subsequently celebrated the accomplishment, with Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke proclaiming UE Basketball CIT Championship Celebration Week.
2015-16 Season
Simmons followed the championship with an even stronger regular season.
The 2015-16 Purple Aces finished 25-9, giving Simmons’ teams 49 victories over two seasons.
Evansville finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season standings and advanced to the MVC Tournament championship game.
That team featured two of the most accomplished players in program history.
D.J. Balentine finished his career with 2,464 points, becoming UE’s all-time leading scorer, while Egidijus Mockevicius became the school’s career rebounding leader.
The 25 victories represented one of Evansville’s finest seasons of its Division I era.
End of Evansville Coaching Tenure
Simmons remained Evansville’s head coach through the 2017-18 season, completing 11 seasons leading his alma mater.
UE made multiple postseason appearances during his tenure, highlighted by the 2015 CIT championship and the 25-win 2015-16 season.
His departure in 2018 ended an association with the program that had stretched, with only a few interruptions, back to his arrival as a player in 1985.
Later Coaching Career
Following his departure from Evansville, Simmons joined Clemson University, serving on head coach Brad Brownell’s staff.
In 2021, Simmons returned to head coaching when he was hired by Eastern Illinois University.
His later career extended a coaching journey that had begun decades earlier at the University of Evansville.
Hall of Fame and Evansville Legacy
Simmons was inducted into the University of Evansville Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997, recognizing his outstanding playing career.
Few people have been connected to Purple Aces basketball in as many different roles as Marty Simmons.
He came to Evansville as a transfer from Indiana University, became a two-time First-Team All-Conference player, scored 1,265 points in only two seasons, graduated from UE and later earned his MBA from the university.
He then returned as an assistant coach, helped take Evansville to multiple NCAA Tournaments, left to establish himself as a head coach and eventually returned again to lead the program himself.
As head coach, Simmons guided UE to some of the program’s best seasons of the modern era, including the 2015 CIT Championship and a 25-win season in 2015-16.
For more than three decades, as a player, student, assistant coach and head coach, Marty Simmons was closely intertwined with the history of University of Evansville basketball.