Two weeks after news broke that Geroy Simon was headed back to College Park, Maryland athletics announced the hire of Maryland legend and CFL Hall of Famer Geroy Simon to the athletic department. Simon joins Maryland as the executive director of revenue share management and general manager.
“We are thrilled to welcome Geroy home to Maryland after an illustrious career as a player and front office executive in the CFL,” AD Damon Evans said via release. “His experience in building rosters, working with cap management, business operations, and contract negotiations coupled with his history as a Terrapin legend make him the perfect candidate for this new position at his alma mater. We can’t wait to see the impact Geroy makes with our Maryland programs.”
It's a new position for Maryland ahead of the proposed changes to revenue sharing, while Simon will begin in his role on Jan. 27, per release. After transitioning from a CFL star on the field to a ten-year career in the front office across the CFL, Simon was initially expected to become the new general manager at Sacramento State under first-year head coach Brennan Marion before pivoting less than 48 hours later. Simon will be “responsible for the strategic vision, planning and execution of department-wide revenue-share management,” per release.
“Simon will collaborate with administration coaches and legal counsel on all player contracts, roster construction, and multi-year salary cap management. Additionally, he will also develop and maintain analytical modeling, software and other frameworks to ensure a process-oriented and data-driven approach to salary cap management. He will oversee budget forecasting, including projecting total revenue-sharing and team-specific budgets for all sports, with an emphasis on football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball.”
More via release:
Simon was a star wide receiver with the Terps from 1993-96. He ranks second all-time in career receptions (185) and sixth in career receiving yards (2,059). During his All-ACC season of 1994, he set a school record and then-ACC mark for most receptions in a season with 77, a mark that currently stands third all-time. He holds the school record for receptions in a game with 16, set against Florida State in 1995. His personal best of 891 receiving yards in 1994, was third-best in Maryland history following that season and is currently seventh all-time.
After playing with the Terps, Simon was on NFL rosters with the Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs before going to a Hall of Fame career in the CFL. He played in the CFL from 1999-2013 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1999-2000), BC Lions (2001-12) and Saskatchewan Roughriders (2013).
Simon compiled a CFL league record 16,352 receiving yards over his 15-year career. His mark of 1,029 career receptions, ranks second all-time and his 103 career touchdown receptions is third all-time in CFL lore. He had 63 career 100-yard games and three more of 200+ yards including a career-high of 238 yards in one game. His nine 1000-yard seasons ranked third all-time when he retired. He holds the CFL’s second-longest receptions streak with 188 consecutive games.
Simon won three Grey Cup Championships, claiming titles in 2006, 2011 and 2013. His teams played in the playoffs in his final 14 seasons. He was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player in 2006 with the BC Lions as he led the league and set career bests with 105 receptions, 1,856 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns. He was selected as a CFL Western All-Star 7 times (2003-2004, 2006-2009 and 2011). He was named a CFL All-Star 6 times in his career (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2011). He was awarded the CFLPA All-Star status 4 times (2003, 2004, 2006, 2008). In his final season as a player, Simon finished his career with a championship, catching two touchdowns in Saskatchewan’s Grey Cup-winning title game in 2013.
In the role of Executive Director of Revenue Share Management and General Manager, Simon will be responsible for the strategic vision, planning and execution of department-wide revenue-share management. Simon will collaborate with administration coaches and legal counsel on all player contracts, roster construction, and multi-year salary cap management. Additionally, he will also develop and maintain analytical modeling, software and other frameworks to ensure a process-oriented and data-driven approach to salary cap management. He will oversee budget forecasting, including projecting total revenue-sharing and team-specific budgets for all sports, with an emphasis on football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball. Simon will start in his role on Jan. 27.
A native of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Geroy (pronounced GEE-roy) was a high school star basketball player and track and field athlete before earning his football scholarship at Maryland. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Maryland in 1996. He is married to former figure skating star and actress Taryn Dakha Simon. Simon’s children are sons Gervon and Jaden, daughters Genevie, Jordan and stepdaughter Malia. Gervon, played football at the United States Military Academy and Jaden, is a wide receiver at the University of Calgary.
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