OSHKOSH, Wis.- Darryl Sims, who has served as the leader of the UW-Oshkosh Athletics Department since 2010, announced on Thursday (Sept. 24) that he is stepping down as assistant chancellor for intercollegiate athletics to pursue another professional opportunity.

"Serving UW-Oshkosh, representing Titan Athletics, working alongside our coaches, staff and community partners, and having the privilege of watching our student-athletes grow, compete, lead, and succeed has been one of the most meaningful professional experiences of my life," Sims said. "I have had the privilege of representing coaches who pour their hearts into their programs, staff members who work tirelessly behind the scenes, and student-athletes who continue to demonstrate what it means to be a Titan in the classroom, in competition, and throughout our community."
 
UW-Oshkosh Deputy Director of Athletics Abby Gildernick will serve as the interim director of athletics starting on Wednesday, Sept. 30 until the university conducts a national search for the role.
 
Sims is departing Oshkosh to become the director of the University of Wisconsin Athletics W Club.
 
"Darryl has led Titan Athletics with a deep commitment to our student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni and supporters," UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Manohar Singh said. "I want to thank Darryl for his leadership and service to UW-Oshkosh and wish him well as he returns to his alma mater for this next chapter."
 
Sims arrived in Oshkosh in 1998 as a part-time assistant football coach and served in that capacity before working with the UW-Oshkosh Foundation from 2001-05. He was a member of the Oshkosh Sports Complex development team, helping gain major corporate sponsorships from J. J. Keller & Associates and the Oshkosh Convention and Visitors Bureau.
 
Sims served as UW-Oshkosh's assistant director of athletics from 2007-10. During that time, he worked on event management and corporate sponsorships for the department.
 
After former director of athletics Al Ackerman announced his retirement in the spring of 2010, Sims was promoted to the role.
 
Since 2010 Sims has led the renovation efforts for the Mary Beth Nienhaus Softball Complex, Kolf Sports Center's new floor, track and bleachers, the installation of turf at J. J. Keller Field, and the resurfacing of the outdoor track at the Oshkosh Sports Complex. He also helped obtain funding for the videoboard and other amenities at the Oshkosh Sports Complex while securing a five-year apparel agreement for the 22-sport athletics program with Under Armour. This fall, ground will be broken for the installation of turf at the baseball facility.
 
The athletics department has enjoyed a wealth of success under Sims. In total, 10 national championships, 40 WIAC regular season championships and 15 WIAC Tournament titles were won. In the classroom, student-athletes earned 30 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America honors and 40 were named WIAC Scholar-Athletes.
 
UW-Oshkosh has finished every year in the top 44 of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Division III Directors' Cup standings with top-20 placements coming in 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2013-14.
 
The university's intercollegiate sports module has also grown during Sims' tenure as director of athletics. Women's wrestling was added for the 2024-25 season, women's flag football began in 2026, and men's soccer was announced to be coming back in the fall of 2027.
 
A member of the Chancellor's Executive Cabinet at UW-Oshkosh, Sims has chaired numerous WIAC committees. In 2021, Sims was named to a 23-member NCAA Constitution Committee that worked to identify the core principles that define college sports and propose a new governance model. Sims was appointed to a NCAA working group that examined issues highlighted in recently proposed federal and state legislation related to student-athlete name, image, and likeness in 2019.
 
Sims and the UW-Oshkosh Athletics Department have hosted nearly 20 NCAA Division III championships, ranging from baseball to track & field to women's volleyball, as well as numerous Division III regional and WIAC postseason competitions since 2010.
 
Since arriving in Oshkosh, Sims has been involved in numerous local organizations including the Oshkosh Convention and Visitors Bureau, Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, Oshkosh Rotary Club, and the Boys & Girls Club. He was also a 2010 graduate of Leadership Oshkosh.
 
Sims, one of 11 graduates of the 2010 NCAA Fellows Leadership Development Program, was a football coach for the then-Oakland Raiders and three NFL Europe teams. He served as an assistant for the Amsterdam Admirals from 2000-05, helping them to the World Bowl title in 2005. Sims was the head coach for the Cologne Centurions and a defensive line coach for the Raiders during 2006. NFL Europe closed after the 2007 season, when Sims was an assistant for the Berlin Thunder.
 
Sims' coaching resume also includes NFL preseason internships with the Raiders, Baltimore Ravens, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets and Washington Commanders.
 
Sims, a Winston-Salem, N.C. native, was a two-time All-Big Ten selection at defensive end for the University of Wisconsin in 1981-82 before being picked 20th overall in the 1985 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played in 58 career NFL games for the Steelers and Cleveland Browns from 1985-88, totaling three sacks, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
 
Sims graduated from UW-Oshkosh with his bachelor's degree in speech communication in 2003 and his master's degree in educational leadership in 2005.