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Possessing bachelor's and master's degrees from The University of Toledo Dan Simrell is the only UT alumni to ever head the Rocket football team, serving as head coach from 1982-89. Dan Simrell became the 20th head coach in the 75-season history of UT football on January 4, 1982. Over the next eight years he established himself as the winningest coach ever to lead the Rocket football program, surpassing the legendary Frank Lauterbur on November 4, 1989 with his 49th victory, a 19-18 defeat of Western Michigan. Simrell had a career record of 50-37-2 with an all-time winning percentage (.573). He was virtually unbeatable in the Glass Bowl, attaining a home record of 35-7-0, a winning mark of .833. Simrell was voted Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year and Ohio Coach of the Year in 1980. His 1984 Rockets were picked to finish 4th in the MAC, instead they posted a 9-2-1 record, won the conference, and went on to play UNLV in the California Bowl. A Toledo native and DeVilbiss graduate, Simrell began his career with brief tenures at Toledo St. Francis and Toledo Start high schools, where he was a teacher and coach for football, basketball and track. He was hired as UT's defensive secondary coach in 1971 and guided the Rockets to a ranking of No. 1 in pass defense. Simrell earned three letters (1962-64) as a Rocket quarterback. He had one of the best seasons of any signal-caller in school history in 1964, setting UT records for passing yardage (1,239) completions (115) and total offense (1616). He finished his career with 2,623 total yards. Throughout his tenure, Simrell was a member of the Varsity "T" Club, Old Newsboys Goodfellow Association of Toledo, American Football Coaches Association, served on the Board of Trustees of Easter Seals, and was Cochairman of the 1988 Easter Seal Telethon.
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