Simpson graduated in 1981. Eventually, he went off to supposedly greener pastures. Stops as an assistant coach at Washington, George Washington and Washington State gave him a unique perspective.

Simpson remembers teaching a sports-theory class at one of those campuses. It was a fill-the-requirements, don’t-really-have-to-attend kind of class for athletes. At first he proposed a lesson plan and took attendance. By the second week, the full house dwindled to a handful of students. Then came the question from a colleague: “Why are you doing all that? Lesson plan, attendance? These are mostly football players.”

“I kind of had my eyes opened a little bit: I realized not every place does it quite like Davis does,” says the ex-coach. “I knew that responsibility in the classroom was (paramount) at UC Davis.”