Fox is in his 11th year at Carolina and his 26th overall as a collegiate
head coach. The 2008 National Coach of the Year has led the Tar Heels to
three consecutive berths in the College World Series and an NCAA-best 165
wins from 2006-08.
Entering this season, Fox was second nationally among active coaches in
winning percentage and 10th in wins. His current record, including 15
seasons at North Carolina Wesleyan, is 1,022-340-5, a winning percentage of
.749 that is eighth-best all time.
In 11 years at Carolina, Fox is 482-199-1. A 1978 UNC graduate, he is one of
six men to both play in and coach at one school in the College World Series.
"Mike has proven to be one of the elite coaches in the country and has built
the Tar Heel baseball program into a consistent national contender," says
Baddour. "Baseball coaches across the country are signing contracts more
often than in past years, and we felt it was important to make this
commitment to each other. We are so proud of what Mike has done with the
baseball program, especially when you consider how competitive ACC baseball
is each year. College baseball's profile continues to grow nationally and
Mike has been a large part of that development."
Fox has coached at UNC beginning in 1999 on a series of one-year letters of
appointment. The six-year contract stipulates a base salary for the current
season of $160,000 and a $10,000 expense account. That increases to $164,800
and $20,000 in 2009-10 and $169,744 and $25,000 in 2010-11. The salary will
then be reviewed on an annual basis after the third year of the contract.
Fox will receive an additional month of salary for each trip to the NCAA
Tournament, NCAA Super Regional and College World Series and for the
baseball team equaling or exceeding 960 in the NCAA's Academic Progress
Rate.
Fox emphasizes strong academic commitment and community service. The NCAA
recently ranked Carolina baseball tied for first with Northwestern in
Academic Progress Rate among the six BCS Conferences. Over the past two
seasons 12 Tar Heels have made the ACCs Academic Honor Roll and he has
coached three ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III selections in the
last five years.
"I am honored and privileged to be Carolina¹s head coach," says Fox. "UNC is
a very special place. I enjoy working at a university that prides itself
on the entire student-athlete experience and understands the true value of
college athletics. I'm fortunate that Chancellor Thorp, Dick Baddour and
the Board of Trustees have made this commitment to my family and me. I
thank our players and assistant coaches for putting me in this position. I
will continue to run a program that our university can be proud of."