¾«¶«´«Ã½

After 26 years John Simone has retired as the Athletic Director at ¾«¶«´«Ã½.  Simone came to ¾«¶«´«Ã½ following 22 years at Notre Dame High School, where in addition to serving as Athletic Director, Simone coached girls’ and boys’ basketball and baseball.

Simone brought success to the ¾«¶«´«Ã½ Athletic Department on and off the athletic field.  During Simone’s tenure, ¾«¶«´«Ã½ has won 76 conference championships and 55 region championships.  ¾«¶«´«Ã½ won four national championships under Simone’s leadership (three in women’s tennis and one in men’s soccer). One hundred and five student athletes have earned NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) All-American honors during Simone’s tenure.  Multiple student athletes have earned Academic All-American honors as well as all-conference and all-region academic honors.

Both men’s and women’s sports enjoyed a great deal of success during Simone’s tenure.  All of Mercer’s athletic teams had a .500 or better winning percentage overall.  Men’s teams had an overall winning percentage of .635 and women’s teams had a winning percentage of .559 under Simone’s leadership.  Overall ¾«¶«´«Ã½’s athletic teams had a winning percentage of .599 while Simone was Athletic Director.

Simone has won a number of local and national awards for his contributions to both the college and athletics.  In 2005, Simone received the Human Relations Award at ¾«¶«´«Ã½, given annually to an employee who demonstrates superlative efforts on the job.  In 2007, Simone was named the Man of the Year by the Trenton Select Committee.  The Trenton Select Committee honors individuals who have been actively involved in athletics for many years in the Trenton community.  In 2009, Simone was inducted into the Notre Dame Athletic Hall of Fame.

At the regional level, Simone received the Auggie Esso Award in 2015, which is presented to an individual who exemplifies and demonstrates committed service and dedication to Region 19 Athletics.  Two years later in 2017, Simone was awarded nationally with the Mary Ellen Leicht Service Award, which recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the NJCAA on the national level for an extended period of time.

The awards continued for Simone, as he was honored with the Philadelphia Flyers Community Teammate Award in 2018.  The award recognizes a local community member who goes above and beyond the call of duty and is honored before the start of Flyers home game.  In January 2023, Simone received the Champion in Service Award presented by the MLK Day of Service Committee and AAWCC (American Association for Women in Community Colleges).  The award recognizes a staff or faculty member’s service to students at ¾«¶«´«Ã½.  Simone is the first recipient of this award.  In April 2023, Simone was inducted into the Mercer County Basketball Hall of Fame.

Simone has served as a volunteer Assistant Coach for the ¾«¶«´«Ã½ softball, a position he plans to return to in January along with assisting with the ¾«¶«´«Ã½ men’s basketball team.