In her 37th season guiding the Judges, Carol Simon is the dean of University Athletic Association women’s basketball coaches. Her success with the women’s basketball program has garnered her the designation as one of the most respected Division III coaches in New England. She has earned University Athletic Association Coaching Staff of the Year honors in 1991-92 and 2004-05 and in 2010 was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.

From her inaugural head coaching season back in 1987-88, Simon led Brandeis to three New England Women’s Eight tournament titles, three NEW Eight regular-season crowns, and six berths in the ECAC Division III New England tournament, with back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005 and, more recently, a title in 2014-15 and a return to the postseason in 2017-18. She helped the Judges to four straight appearances in the NCAA Division III tournament from 2006 through 2009. The 2008-09 campaign included the team’s historic run to the Elite Eight when they earned the right to host the first two rounds of the tournament before advancing to the sectionals. They finished the season ranked No. 11 in the nation in Division III in the USA Today/ESPN poll and 13th in the d3hoops.com poll.

In her 36-year tenure, Simon has recorded 471 wins, including a 303-256 record since the year 2000. She notched her 450th career victory on December 7th, 2019, with an 83-53 win over Johnson & Wales University. As the winningest coach in school history, she has coached 10 1,000-point scorers, five Brandeis Hall of Famers, four All-Americans and two UAA Players of the Year. Among her recent graduates are Caitlin Malcolm ‘07, who became the first Brandeis women’s basketball graduate to sign a professional contract when she joined Killester in the Irish League in September 2007; Jaime Capra ‘08, the 2008 UAA Co-Player of the Year; and Jessica Chapin ‘10, the first player named a WBCA first-team All-American in program history.

Simon has repeatedly proven her successes as a talented recruiter, program-builder, game strategist and inspirational leader, as she was named the New England Women’s Eight coach of the year in both the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons, as well as part of the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year in 1991-92 and 2004-05. Her dedication to the program is seen through her intense personal, competitive drive to make the Brandeis Women’s Basketball team one of the most dominant in the country.

A native of Middlebury, Connecticut, Simon is a 1985 graduate of Colby College where she majored in Administrative Science. She was a member of Colby’s ECAC Division III women’s basketball championship teams in 1984 and 1985. A three-sport athlete, she captained the team her senior year, while also serving as captain of the soccer and softball teams. Perhaps a highlight to her personal athletic career, Simon represented the United States in the 1981 World Maccabiah Games. In 2003, Simon earned her Master’s degree in Management from Brandeis’s Heller School.