Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2015
If there is one person who is most identifiable with Oregon State’s football renaissance at the turn of the century it’s running back Ken Simonton. From 1998-2001 no running back in the then Pac-10 Conference achieved more than Simonton.
He rushed for a school record 5,044 career yards, the second-most ever in the league at the time. At the time of his graduation he was one of only six players in conference history to have three 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Simonton gained 100-plus yards in 26 games, including a career-high 234 yards in a monumental victory over USC in 2000.
His most memorable play is arguably his triple overtime winning touchdown run against Oregon in the 1998 Civil War. The two-time All-American led the Beavers to a pair of bowl games, including the 2001 Fiesta Bowl title in a rout of Notre Dame that culminated with a final national ranking of No. 4 for the Beavers.
