Frank Sims became the head coach of Spring Hill College (SHC) with just three weeks remaining in the 1985 season and has since won 974 games at the helm of the Badgers. Over his 39 years as a collegiate head coach, Sims has accumulated 1,010 total victories. Sims holds the record for most career victories at Spring Hill and his tenure with SHC includes 27 20-win seasons, seven 30-win seasons, two 40-win seasons and six conference championships. Spring Hill appeared in the NAIA Regional Tournament four times in his reign and Sims has been honored as a Conference Coach of the Year on five occasions with the latest time being the 2014 Independent Collegiate Athletic Association (ICAA) honor in NCAA Division II.
During Spring Hill’s 2015 NCAA Division II transition season, the Badgers rang up a perfect 16-0 mark in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and a 26-14 record overall. In 2016, the Badgers once again topped the SIAC with an 18-3 conference record and a 29-16 mark overall. In 2019, the Badgers captured its first SIAC Tournament title and appeared in the NCAA DII South Region Championship Tournament. In his final season of 2022, the Badgers won the SIAC Tournament Championship with Sims earning the "Coach of the Tournament Award."
Sims was inducted into the Alabama Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2017.
Before joining the Badgers in 1985, Sims was the head coach at Milton College (Wis.) where he compiled a 36-10 record and reached the NAIA Regional Tournament during the 1982 season. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at his alma mater Eastern Illinois University where he received his B.S. in Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) in 1977. After a successful three-year stint as the head coach at Sparta (Ill.) High School from 1976-80, Sims became a graduate assistant coach at Morehead State University (Ky.) in 1980-81 and later completed his M.A. in HPER at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater where he served as a graduate assistant coach from 1982-85.
During his nine seasons in international competition, Sims coached the United States to the 2009 and 2010 championships of Prague Baseball Week while also coaching US teams to Runner-Up finishes in 2008 and third-place finishes in 2005 and 2006.
Born and raised in Charleston, Ill., Sims grew up on a farm with seven brothers and sisters. He graduated high school in 1970 and attended Lake Land Junior College before pitching for the University of Iowa. In 1973, he was a member of the Hawkeye’s co-Big Ten championship team. He and his wife, Dana, have four children and five grandchildren (Drew and Caitlin Sims with son Carson; Charlie and Sarah Anderson with daughter Olivia and sons Connor & Henry; Brian and India Sims with son Camden; and Tyler and Kelsey Welch).
Sims' Career Record
Milton College
1983 36-10 - NAIA Regional Playoffs
Spring Hill College
1985 5-4-1
1986 29-21
1987 17-27
1988 29-25
1989 27-20
1990 31-25
1991 24-22
1992 40-15 - NAIA District 30 Champions
1993 37-17 - GCAC Champions
1994 31-17
1995 30-20
1996 34-26 - NAIA Regional Playoffs
1997 31-24 - GCAC Champions/NAIA Regional Playoffs
1998 17-29
1999 27-32
2000 34-24-1
2001 40-25 - GCAC Champions/NAIA Regional Playoffs
2002 25-30-1
2003 28-38
2004 17-38
2005 18-38
2006 17-30
2007 18-38
2008 19-37
2009 27-28
2010 26-24
2011 18-35
2012 22-28
2013 20-30
2014 28-27
2015 26-14; 16-0 SIAC West
2016 29-16; 18-3 SIAC West
2017 29-20; 17-4 SIAC West
2018 27-17; 18-1 SIAC West
2019 29-22; 17-7 SIAC West (SIAC Champion/NCAA DII Region Tournament)
2020 11-11; Covid Shutdown
2021 18-12; Covid Shutdown
2022 38-15; 23-4 SIAC West (SIAC Champion/NCAA DII Region Tournament)
SHC TOTALS: 974-920-3 (38 seasons)
OVERALL: 1,010-930-3 (39 seasons)
1976: Eastern Illinois, Assistant Coach (36-11)
1977-80: Sparta High School (Ill.). Head Coach (44-18)
1981-82: Morehead State, Assistant Coach (39-40)
1983-85: Wisconsin-Whitewater, Assistant Coach (43-31)