University of North Carolina Athletics
Sims Donates Money To His High School
May 15, 2002 | Football
May 15, 2002
Spartanburg, S.C. ----- Former Dorman football standout Ryan Sims, the sixth overall pick during the NFL draft in April, has given $100,000 to his old school in exchange for the naming rights to its new baseball field.
The field will be named after Sims' father, Ronnie Sims, a former Triple A pitcher with the Boston Red Sox organization who helped Dorman to its first-ever state championship of any kind in 1971. The announcement came Tuesday.
"My father always has been so supportive of me and helped to mold me into what I am today," said Ryan Sims, a defensive tackle who was drafted by Kansas City but still has not signed. "This is just one way I can honor him and give back to him, as well as to this community, which has been so good to me."
Donnie Sims, Ronnie's brother, also was a member of the 1971 team and Ronnie Sims still holds the state record for no-hitters with four.
The new Dorman High School will open this fall and also will include a football stadium and athletics complex.
The Palladian Group, a Spartanburg-based public relations company, has been helping Spartanburg County School District Six pursue naming rights for athletic and fine arts facilities for the new campus. The group will get 12.5 percent commission -- about $8,000 for the baseball stadium -- plus expenses.
It is the first naming rights agreement in South Carolina involving a public school and is among the largest in the country, according to a Palladian news release.
Sims played quarterback for two years at Dorman before moving to defense. He was a Shrine Bowl selection his senior year, then a third-team All-American at North Carolina. He finished with 167 tackles and 14 sacks.
The cost of the entire project is about $70 million. The 292-acre campus includes a 350,000-square-foot building for 10th- through 12th-graders and a 150,000-square-foot building for ninth-graders.
Sims' contribution is expected to pass through the Spartanburg County Foundation and become a charitable tax credit.
