PASADENA, Calif. – Former University of Michigan linebacker Ron Simpkins was one of three individuals named to the 2022 Class of Inductees into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame. Simpkins is joined by former USC running back Anthony Davis and former Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany in this year’s induction class.
Simpkins is the 10th Wolverine player and 12th overall individual from the University of Michigan to receive induction into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame.
He played in three consecutive Rose Bowls for the Wolverines, earning trips to the “Granddaddy of Them All” in 1977, 1978 and 1979. Simpkins started at linebacker in the 1978 Rose Bowl against Washington and the 1979 Rose Bowl game against USC after earning snaps as a backup in the 1977 game.
Simpkins registered a then Rose Bowl record 16 tackles, including 13 solo stops, against the Huskies and followed up with 12 stops against the Trojans a year later. He is second all-time at Michigan in career tackles in bowl games (39) and is one of only two players in school history with double-digits stops in three or more bowl games.
A member of three consecutive Big Ten Championship teams, Simpkins started 34 career games at linebacker. He holds school records for tackles in a season (174 in 1977), tackles in a career (516) and double-digit tackle games (25). Simpkins was a two-time All-Big Ten first team selection (1978-79) and earned consensus All-America honors during the 1979 season.
The Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place at the Lot K Tent on December 30, 2021, outside of the Rose Bowl Stadium, two days prior to the kickoff of the 108th Rose Bowl Game. Tickets to the event, which is a seated luncheon featuring a Q&A session with the inductees, are available for $60 and can be purchased online.
Following are the University of Michigan inductees:
Players
Name Year of Induction
Bump Elliott 1989
Neil Snow 1990
Bob Chappuis 1992
Butch Woolfolk 1998
Mel Anthony 2002
Chuck Ortmann 2008
Brian Griese 2012
Tyrone Wheatley 2015
Charles Woodson 2017
Ron Simpkins 2021
Coaches
Name Year of Induction
Bo Schembechler 1993
Lloyd Carr 2013
