The majority of USI students have attended a sporting event of some kind at some point in their life. Many have probably looked online to check rosters, schedules and team photos. And there are a few out there that have maybe even checked on statistics of games or noticed fliers around campus about upcoming games.
What most people don’t consider are the behind the scene guys that make sure anything that is athletics related is functioning properly, Those two guys are the directors of sports information Ray Simmons and Dan McDonnell.
Simmons in his 22nd year of handling and organizing sports information. He is in charge of producing media, propaganda and statistical information for all of USI’s sports teams. He is also in charge of coordinating interviews for coaches, athletes, and the media.
In Simmons’ tenure at USI, he has seen a number of changes and advancements. When he started in 1989, the computer the he used required floppy disks and he had to write down every single stat for each game and phone them into the newspaper office. Now, he oversees the USI athletics website that moves around 10,000 pages and he can print off automated stats and send them out to anybody at any point during a game.
One of the most memorable times during Simmons’ career was when USI hosted the 1993 NCAA basketball regional. Ray logged a total of 118 hours of work for the six days that the tournament lasted
Dan McDonnell is in his 11th year in the sports information office. He started out as a student intern under Simmons for two years, before he worked in the office full time.
McDonnell forms half of a two-headed monster with Simmons that is able to cover more events and make the website accurate and up to date.
One of McDonnell’s most memorable times at USI, was when he was able to travel with the baseball team to Cary, North Carolina, where they eventually won the 2010 National Championship. Simmons was originally supposed to go with the team, but had to cancel due to personal reasons. McDonnell took his spot and the rest was history.
Both Ray Simmons and Dan McDonnell love what they do plan on being a part of USI sports information for as long as they can. USI sports and sports information would not be anything of what it is today if it weren’t for these two guys.