Ron Simpson & Cindy (Ford) Gittens Named 2018 Rider University MAAC Basketball Honor Roll Inductees
EDISON, NJ – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has announced Rider University basketball legends Ron Simpson and Cindy (Ford) Gittens will be inducted in the 2018 MAAC Honor Roll. Honorees will be enshrined in “The MAAC Experience” exhibit at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, September 15.
Each member institution of the MAAC honors one male and one female from its basketball “family” as part of the 2018 induction class. A dinner event takes place Saturday, September 15 at the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Court of Dreams to recognize the Honor Roll inductees.
Each honoree will be profiled in the game program for the 2019 MAAC Basketball Championships and will also be featured in a video display at “The MAAC Experience.”
Ron Simpson ‘88
In just three seasons at Rider, Simpson compiled 1,735 points. He was the first Bronc to compile 1,000 points in his first two seasons. His 20.9 points per game career scoring average is the highest ever among 1,000-point scorers at Rider.
In the first game of the second season Rider played with the three-point shot rule (1986-87), Simpson made nine, a record that still stands. He made 98 three-point field goals that season, a record that stood until Jerry Johnson made 102 in 2004-05.
Simpson was named 1986-87 East Coast Conference Co-Player of the Year, averaging 23.2 points per game. He scored 42 points in a game twice, against Drexel and East Stroudsburg, and ranked 20
th in the nation in scoring and seventh in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (.524) as a junior in 1986-87. His 660 points scored as a senior in 1987-88 were a Rider record until broken by Darrick Suber (665) in 1992-93.
Cindy (Ford) Gittens ‘80
Cindy (Ford) Gittens was the first women’s basketball player at Rider to score 1,000 career points. She still holds Rider records for points per game average in a season (22.3 points per game in 1977), and in a career (19.8), along with most field goals made in a game (15), most free-throws made in a game (17-of-19) and most career field goals made (605).
Ford held the Rider career scoring record for nine years and is currently fifth with 1,447 points. She also grabbed 503 career rebounds and dished out 231 assists in her four years at Rider. She was a four-time NJAIAW All-Star.
| 2018 MAAC Basketball Honor Roll Class (to date) |
| Institution |
Name |
| Rider |
Ron Simpson |
| Rider |
Cindy (Ford) Gittens |
| Saint Peter’s |
Harry Laurie |
| Saint Peter’s |
Felicia (Harris) Sellers |
| Siena |
Tay Fisher |
| Siena |
Melanie (Halker) Moore |
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 38
th year of competition during the 2018-19 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.