UNC baseball coach Mike Fox retiring after 22 seasons with Tar Heels

Mike Fox, UNC baseball’s head coach of 22 years, is retiring and will be succeeded by associate head coach Scott Forbes, the school announced in a release Friday morning.

Fox, who took over at his alma mater in 1999, led the Tar Heels to a 948-406-1 record, three ACC championships and seven College World Series appearances, including runner-up finishes in 2006 and 2007. He’s also the first ACC coach to lead a team to four consecutive CWS appearances (2006-09).

Over 37 years as head coach, Fox finished with a career record of 1,487-547-5 and a .731 career win percentage — both of which ranked first among active coaches in 2020. Fox retires with the seventh most wins and 15th best winning percentage in NCAA history.

“Serving as the head baseball coach at my alma mater for the past 22 seasons has been one of the greatest blessings of my professional life,” Fox said in the release. “I have been in love with the University of North Carolina since I was a young boy. To see my dream of becoming a Tar Heel student, player and coach is hard for me to even comprehend.”

Fox, 64, cited the “importance of family” as his reasoning for stepping down. The coronavirus pandemic, which cut UNC’s baseball season short in March, allowed Fox and his wife, Cheryl, to spend more time with their son, daughter, in-laws and grandchildren.

“Life slowed down for Cheryl and me, and we discovered the enjoyment of a simpler life,” Fox said. “Thankfully, I am healthy, and I feel this is the right time to step away from the rigors of coaching. I will miss the players, coaches, co-workers and our great fans, but it is time for me to be a full-time husband, father and grandfather, and do other things with my life.”

Forbes, named by director of athletics Bubba Cunningham as Fox’s successor, completed his 19th season on the Tar Heels’ coaching staff this spring. He’s served as pitching coach, batting coach and recruiting coordinator at UNC. He played for Fox (1995-97) and got his coaching start under him (1998) at Division III North Carolina Wesleyan in Rocky Mount.

In the release, Forbes said he “would not be the husband, dad or coach I am today without (Fox’s) influence,” which later turned UNC baseball “into a national power.”

“I am going to miss being on the field with him,” Forbes said. “Words cannot express the gratitude my family and I have for Coach Fox and Mrs. Fox. I know he will enjoy the next chapter of his life and I wish his family all the best.”

“Scott Forbes is a talented recruiter, a strong communicator and has been instrumental in developing multiple facets of the program during his 20 years at Carolina,” Cunningham added. “As head coach, he will continue to build on all that our baseball team has accomplished.”

Fox, an Asheville native and 1978 UNC alumnus, is responsible for much of that success. He’s the winningest coach in UNC baseball history and led the team to seven of its 11 CWS appearances.

And as a former JV baseball and basketball walk-on, who made varsity with the former team, Fox has also played in or served as head coach for all 18 of UNC’s CWS wins.

UNC averaged almost 45 wins a season under Fox, not counting the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and logged five 50-win seasons (including a school record 59 in 2013).

North Carolina had 105 players selected in the MLB Draft under Fox, including 15 first-round picks and 27 who have appeared in the majors.

“UNC has been blessed with outstanding coaches, and Mike is among those at the very top of the list,” Dick Baddour, the former UNC director of athletics who hired Fox in 1998, said in the release. “… Every decision Mike made was in the context of what is best for UNC as well as his student athletes. He developed a first-class program that is respected and honored among the very best in the country.”

Before coming to UNC, Fox spent 15 years as head coach at N.C. Wesleyan. He led the Battling Bishops to 14 NCAA tournaments, eight Division III CWS trips and a national title in 1989.

In a letter to the UNC community, attached to the release, Fox thanked a slew of people: former assistants, former players, his parents, his wife, his children. And Forbes, he said, is “more than ready to be a head coach and will do an excellent job.”

“I am still very much in love with everything about the University of North Carolina,” Fox said in the final paragraph, “and, of course, I will always be a Tar Heel.”

This story was originally published August 7, 2020 at 11:57 AM with the headline "UNC baseball coach Mike Fox retiring after 22 seasons with Tar Heels."