Bio

Ralph Sims was a member of the UW-Oshkosh men’s basketball team from 1975-78. He collected National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All-America First Team honors in 1978 after receiving Third Team recognition in 1977.

Sims was a three-time All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference First Team member and chosen as the league’s Player of the Year in both 1977 and 1978. Sims was also named to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Pizza Hut All-Star Game Ballot and College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-America Second Team in 1978.

Sims finished his career with a school-record 2,303 points – the third-highest total in WIAC history. He ranks first in the conference with 963 career field goals made, third with 1,784 career field goals attempted and fifth with a 22.3 career scoring average.

Sims established several school records as a Titan, including a mark of 29 straight games with 20-plus points from February 21, 1975 to December 2, 1977.

Sims led the WIAC in scoring with an average of 28.0 points per game in 1977. The following year he helped UW-Oshkosh to an 18-10 record and the WIAC championship by averaging 20.8 points per contest. Sims scored 37 points against UW-La Crosse on February 18, 1978 to clinch the outright WIAC title for the Titans. His single-game scoring best was a 44-point performance against Northland College in the first of the NAIA District 14 Tournament on March 6, 1978. Sims currently ranks ninth in UW-Oshkosh history with 717 career rebounds.

Sims attended Waukegan (Ill.) East High School and enjoyed a basketball career that helped set the tone for what was to follow at UW-Oshkosh. During his senior season at Waukegan East Sims led the conference in scoring and received All-State third team honors.

Sims earned a bachelor’s degree in radio-tv-film and master’s degree in counselor education from UW-Oshkosh in 1978 and 1980, respectively. Sims followed his playing career with coaching positions at Oshkosh North High School (head boys freshman basketball coach) and Allendale School in Illinois (assistant boys varsity basketball coach).

Sims was inducted into the UW-Oshkosh Athletics Hall of Fame in 1990, NAIA District 14 Hall of Fame in 1994 and WIAC Hall of Fame in 2022. In 2012, he was selected to the WIAC Men’s Basketball All-Time Team in conjunction with the conference’s Centennial Celebration.

Sims passed away on April 14, 1995. He was surived by his wife, Tina, and daughter, Brook.

Updated 8/1/2022