May 2, 2008

AUBURN - Auburn women's basketball coach Nell Fortner announced the hiring of Mark Simons as an assistant coach on Friday. Simons, who comes to Auburn after serving in a similar capacity the past two seasons at Georgia Tech, replaces Seth Kushkin.

"We are excited to have Mark Simons back at Auburn," Fortner said. "We worked with Mark for three months back in 2006 and he was a wonderful coach for us. We are glad to have him back in the Auburn family. Not only is he a wonderful person, but he is a tremendous X's and O's coach and developer of players."

Last season at Georgia Tech, Simons helped the Yellow Jackets to a program best 22 wins, the most since joining the ACC before the 1979-80 season, and their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. It marked the first time in Tech history the program advanced to the tournament in back-to-back seasons.

Under Simon's tutelage, Yellow Jacket Jacqua Williams broke the women's and men's school record in steals with 95 her sophomore campaign and bettered that last season with 118 steals.

In Simons' first season at Georgia Tech, he aided the program to a 21-12 record, and the program's first NCAA Tournament win, a 55-54 victory over DePaul. In that same year, Tech earned its first winning record in ACC play as the team was 9-5.

Before his stint at Georgia Tech, Simons served as an assistant coach at Auburn during the second half of the 2005-06 season, helping the Tigers to a 14-15 record.

"I am excited to get back to Auburn," Simons said. "Auburn is a great place and I had a great experience when I was here three years ago. I am really thrilled about the opportunity to come back and work with these kids, most of which I know, and to be in the SEC."

Prior to his appointment to the Auburn staff, Simons served as the head men's basketball coach at Elon University from 1993-2002, during which time he led the Phoenix to a South Atlantic Conference Championship and their first appearance in the postseason since 1972. He also helped transition the team from Division II to Division I.

The 1990 Carolinas Conference Coach of the Year and 1988 South Region and Dixie Conference Coach of the Year had four players named to the Big South All-Rookie Team over a two-year span and also boasted a 100 percent graduation rate.

Simons made his first stop in the state of Georgia in 1991 when he served as the head basketball coach for three seasons. He earned his first head coaching position at St. Andrews College in North Carolina in 1986, where he served as both the head basketball coach and athletic director from 1986 to 1991.

A 1972 graduate of Aquinas College, Simons earned his first coaching position in 1975 at his alma mater, serving as an assistant coach for one season, before being named an assistant and instructor at Saginaw Valley State in 1976, where he remained until 1986. While at Saginaw Valley State, Simons earned his master's degree from Michigan State in 1977.

Simons, has one son, Adam, a graduate of Xavier University, and two daughters, Katie, who earned her master's degree from George Washington and now works in Washington, D.C., and Molly, who is pursuing a graduate degree at the University of Southern California.