Findlay, Ohio – The University of Findlay has hired Bri Sims as the next head women's basketball coach, as announced by Director of Athletics Jim Givens on Monday, April 20.
Coach Sims comes to Findlay with seven years of head coaching experience, most recently spending two years at the helm of the program at Ohio Dominican University. She is the sixth women's basketball coach in the NCAA era of the program.
"I'm incredibly honored and excited to join the University of Findlay as the head women's basketball coach," said Sims. "Thank you to (Director of Athletics) Jim Givens and everyone else involved at Findlay for entrusting me with the opportunity to lead this program. I cannot wait to get on campus and begin working with some amazing student-athletes. This team will be a positive reflection of the University of Findlay in the community, while also competing at the highest level on the court."
A native of Shelby, Ohio, Sims took over at Ohio Dominican in 2024 after three consecutive seasons with single-digit wins and a three-year win percentage of just .217. In her first year, the team improved to earn 12 wins, and this past season, the team finished with a .500 record, its best win percentage in six years.
Prior to her time at ODU, Sims was the head coach at the University of Dallas, a Division III school that competes in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC). She took over a program that had won just two games in 2018-19 and, by the end of her time, had the team winning double-digit games in consecutive seasons, posting the fifth-best win percentage in program history. For her efforts, Sims was named the SCAC Coach of the Year in 2021.
"When this position opened up and we began putting together a list of candidates, Bri's name quickly rose to the top," Givens said. "I have always been impressed with the way she conducted herself as a visiting coach in Croy, and when we got to speak, her passion for coaching and excitement about the chance to be a member of the Findlay family were evident. I am confident in her ability to not only build a program that competes at a high level, but also fosters a culture where our student-athletes excel in the classroom and develop into role models and leaders who represent Findlay in a positive manner."
Before earning the head coaching job at Dallas, Sims was a graduate assistant at nearby Bluffton University, where she helped the Beavers to the program's first-ever Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Sims played four years at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, an NCAA Division I school. She graduated from UMass Lowell with a Bachelor of Liberal Arts with a concentration in Psychology & Sociology in 2013.
