The Georgia Bulldogs have fired head men’s basketball coach Mark Fox after nine unfulfilling seasons. Fox previously coached at Nevada, where he led the Wolf Pack to three NCAA tournament appearances in five seasons. Unfortunately, he couldn’t replicate those results at Georgia where he posted a 163-133 record. Despite being in a talent-rich state and occasionally landing a few blue-chip recruits, Mark Fox was only able to get the Bulldogs to the NCAA tournament in 2011 and 2015, both resulting in 1st round exits.
Per Athletic Director Greg McGarity:
“In the end, I felt like we have not reached our full potential as a basketball program. I really thought we were on the way to turning the corner this year. We just did not achieve the level of success as a program that I believe we should at the University of Georgia.”
UGA had the SEC pre-season player of the year in Yante Maten and was predicted to be in the top half of the league by many experts. However, the Bulldogs ended up finishing 18-15 and needed to win the SEC tournament to earn a birth to the big dance. In an outgoing news conference, Fox suggested the new coach for the Bulldogs will need to have a better partnership than he did with the current administration.
UGA will be moving quickly on a national search to replace Fox and some of the names that have come up are former Indiana head coach Tom Crean and former Ohio State coach, Thad Matta.