University of North Carolina Athletics
Fox Joins List of Tar Heel Greats In N.C. Sports Hall
January 19, 2017 | Baseball
CHAPEL HILL --- The N.C. Sports Hall of Fame named University of North Carolina head baseball coach Mike Fox to its Class of 2017 with the induction set for Friday evening at the Raleigh Convention Center. Fox, who is in his 19th year as the head coach of the Tar Heels, has guided his alma mater to the most successful period in school history, firmly establishing Carolina as one of the nation's preeminent college baseball programs.
Fox was a three-year letterwinner at UNC as a second baseman from 1976-78, helping lead the Tar Heels to the 1978 College World Series. As a senior, he hit .277, tied for the team lead with six home runs and was named to the CWS all-tournament team. Fox also played on the Tar Heel junior varsity basketball team under Eddie Fogler in the 1975 and '76 seasons.
The native of Asheville, North Carolina, graduated in 1978 with a degree in physical education before earning his Master of Arts in teaching at UNC in 1979. Fox served as a graduate assistant at Carolina during the 1979 season and was the head coach at Millbrook High School in Raleigh in 1980 and '81 before taking over as N.C. Wesleyan's head coach in September of 1982. During his 15 seasons in Rocky Mount, Fox led the Battling Bishops to 14 NCAA tournament appearances, eight Division III College World Series appearances and the 1989 NCAA Division III national championship.
Former UNC athletic director Dick Baddour brought Fox back to Chapel Hill in 1999, and over the last 18 seasons Fox has established a high standard of success, averaging nearly 45 wins per season and guiding the Tar Heels to 50 or more victories five times, including a school-record 59 in 2013. Fox recorded his 1,300th career victory late in the 2015 season and enters 2017 three wins shy of 800 at Carolina.
One of only six men to play in and then coach his alma mater in the College World Series, Fox has led Carolina to 15 postseason trips, including an incredible run of six CWS appearances in eight years from 2006-13. Fox, who has coached UNC to 15 College World Series victories, has either played or coached in all 17 of Carolina's CWS wins.
Overall, a total of 83 Tar Heels to play for Fox over the past 18 years have been drafted by Major League Baseball organizations, including 11 first-round or supplemental selections. Thirty of Fox's former Tar Heels were on professional rosters in 2016, including four players whose teams advanced to the MLB playoffs. Notable Carolina products include Cleveland Indians reliever and 2016 ALCS MVP Andrew Miller, 2014 AL Gold Glove winner Kyle Seager of the Seattle Mariners and New York Mets right-hander Matt Harvey, who started the 2013 MLB All-Star Game.
Fox is joined in the Class of 2017 by Glenn Bass, Dwight Durante, Chasity Melvin, Ben Sutton, Caulton Tudor, Steve Vacendak, and Stephanie Wheeler. He joins five others with ties to Carolina baseball who have been previously enshired - Bunn Hearn, Clyde King, Walter Rabb, Danny Talbott and Burgess Whitehead.
They will be enshrined during the 54th annual induction banquet on the evening of Friday, May 5, at the Raleigh Convention Center.
Ticket information for the banquet is available at ncsportshalloffame.org or by calling (919) 845-3455.
The N.C. Sports Hall of Fame was established in 1963. The permanent exhibit, North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, is located on the third floor of the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh and features significant artifacts and memorabilia donated by inductees. The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free.
University of North Carolina Members of the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame
George Barclay (football)
Jim Beatty (track)
Pete Brennan (men's basketball)
Kelvin Bryant (football)
Jack Cobb (men's basketball)
Brad Daugherty (men's basketball)
Walter Davis (men's basketball)
Anson Dorrance (soccer)
Bill Dooley (football)
Woody Durham (Tar Heel Sports Network)
Chuck Erickson (director of athletics)
Bob Fetzer (director of athletics)
Raymond Floyd (men's golf)
Phil Ford (men's basketball)
Mike Fox (baseball)
Lee Gliarmis (soccer)
Bill Guthridge (men's basketball)
Marshall Happer (tennis)
Dee Hardison (football)
Sylvia Hatchell (women's basketball)
Bunn Hearn (baseball)
Ken Huff (football)
Antawn Jamison (men's basketball)
Bobby Jones (men's basketball)
Michael Jordan (men's basketball)
Charlie Justice (football)
Clyde King (baseball)
Page Marsh (women's golf)
Robert McAdoo (men's basketball)
Don McCauley (football)
Monk McDonald (men's basketball)
Bones McKinney (men's basketball)
Allen Morris (tennis)
Hugh Morton (photographer)
Bob Quincy (sports information)
Walter Rabb (baseball)
Lennie Rosenbluth (men's basketball)
Lee Shaffer (men's basketball)
Karen Shelton (field hockey)
Chunk Simmons (track)
Charlotte Smith (women's basketball)
Dean Smith (men's basketball)
Ed Sutton (football)
John Swofford (football, director of athletics)
Danny Talbott (football/baseball)
Jake Wade (sports information)
Tony Waldrop (track)
Sue Walsh (swimming)
Harvie Ward (men's golf)
Art Weiner (football)
Carla Werden (women's soccer)
Burgess Whitehead (baseball)
Roy Williams (men's basketball)
Harry Williamson (track)
James Worthy (men's basketball)
