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SALT LAKE CITY — After rebuilding Southern Utah's men's basketball program, Todd Simon is on the move from Cedar City.
The seventh-year Thunderbirds coach was named the head coach at Bowling Green, the university announced Wednesday after Simon finished off a 127-115 record that also included a 17-game stint at UNLV in 2016.
Simon signed a contract extension with Southern Utah through the 2026-27 season that went into effect in 2021.
The 42-year-old native of Fowler, Michigan, guided the Thunderbirds to three consecutive 20-win seasons, including a Big Sky championship in 202, and a 22-12 record in 2022-23 that included a spot in the Western Athletic Conference championship game. Saturday's College Basketball Invitational opener will mark the first time that Southern Utah has ever appeared in consecutive postseason tournaments, and the third overall in program history.
Associate head coach Flynn Clayman will coach the Thunderbirds on an interim basis for the remainder of the season, the university confirmed to KSL.com.
"It was an honor and privilege to serve Southern Utah University for the past seven years," Simon said in a prepared statement Wednesday after accepting the job. "My family and I have also grown our family here and built lifelong relationships.
"We are extremely grateful for all of the student-athletes, coaches, administrators, students, faculty, fans, and alumni that have had a hand in building a perennial 20-win program that has elevated conferences and competed for championships."
"Thank you to President Wyatt and President Benson for leading our university and to Jason Butikofer, Deb Corum, Todd Brown, and Doug Knuth for their outstanding athletics leadership," he added. "From the bottom of my heart, I say thank you Southern Utah, and thank you Cedar City for embracing us and believing in our vision."
The nation's No. 4 scoring offense that averaged 82.7 points per game this past season, Southern Utah under Simon has been revolutionized. Six of SUU's top 10 career scorers all played under Simon during the past seven years, including Johnn Knight III, Tevian Jones and Maizen Faussett, among others. Last year's Big Sky coach of the year before taking SUU to the WAC, Simon was recently named a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award in 2022-23.
"It has been a pleasure to work alongside coach Simon for the last five years," said SUU women's basketball coach Tracy Sanders, whose team will open its first NCAA Tournament game in program history on Friday at Notre Dame. "He is a tremendous leader and has been a great mentor to me here at Southern Utah. Bowling Green has made a fantastic hire and I'm so excited to follow his success."
