Bermudian golfer Michael Sims has said he is humbled to have been inducted into the University of Rhode Island Hall of Fame.

Sims, who attended URI between 1998 and 2001 and led the university to back-to-back Atlantic 10 and New England championship titles and won the individual title in 2000, was one of eight inductees in the 2025 class.

The 46-year-old was thrilled to accept the honour at the Higgins Welcome Centre a couple of weeks ago before being presented to the crowd at the URI men’s basketball game against Fordham.

“It was a humbling honour to receive but I don’t get there without the community I have behind me,” Sims said.

“It was a great day, we did our little ceremony and I had to give a little speech. We then went down to a basketball match and got recognised in front of the crowd during a TV timeout. It was awesome and an incredible day.”

The visit to Rhode Island and the Hall of Fame ceremony allowed Sims to reminisce on his time at the college and to see the changes made to campus life since he walked the grounds more than two decades ago.

“When people ask where I went to university and I tell them Rhode Island, they tend to give me that look of really, why there, because obviously the winters are cold and during our college season it’s not exactly the mecca of golf,” Sims said.

“But I wouldn’t change it for the world, I would go back and do it all over again. It was an incredible time in my life, the people I met, my golf coach at the university and the coach I worked on with my swing, if I don’t go there I maybe don’t have the success that I did have at that point.

“It was just awesome going back, there were a lot of new buildings and a lot of the places where we used to hit golf balls around the campus, because we didn’t have range privileges to practice, are now parking lots or new buildings, so it’s neat to see how the university has grown and see what they are now recognised for. It’s a lot of fun.”

Going back to Rhode Island also gave Sims the chance to meet up with some of his old roommates but the absence of his former coach Tom Drennan, who died in 2020, was sorely felt.

“Unfortunately my college coach has since passed but one of the things I wished I’d known before I stood up to give my speech was that Tom Drennan was inducted into the Hall of Fame ten years ago to the day that I was,” Sims said.

“That made it even more special and also one of my team-mates was able to come down. We have stayed in touch but it was great to see him and meet his little kiddos and see how life has changed a little bit for us both.

“One of my roommates was also there and he was on the soccer team at the time but is now head coach of URI soccer, so it was unbelievable to see him as well. It was a fantastic weekend and to have my mum, my dad and my sister there was everything.”

After a weekend of catching up with old friends and celebrating good times it was back to the day job for Sims, who is involved in sports management with some of golf’s high-profile players. However, if his schedule allows, he will take another shot at qualifying for the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, but he holds no expectations.

“There’s absolutely no expectations golf-wise,” Sims said.

“I work in the golf industry and I don’t play as much as I work in the sports management area for guys on the Korn Ferry Tour, the European Tour and every other tour in between. But I’d love to qualify again for the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.”