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Jim Fox, the longtime Davidson assistant coach under Bob McKillop, was named the new head coach of Appalachian State on Tuesday afternoon.
He will be taking over for Jason Capel, who was fired on March 10 after a 53-70 record in four seasons. Appalachian State finished 9-21 (5-11 Southern) last season.
Fox was on the Davidson coaching staff for 13 seasons, serving as the associate head coach for the past two seasons.
“I’m extremely grateful to Chancellor Dr. Ken Peacock, Chancellor-elect Dr. Sheri Noren Everts, the Board of Trustees and Charlie Cobb for the opportunity to lead the Appalachian State men’s basketball program,” Fox said in a statement. “In addition, I’d like to thank Coach McKillop and Davidson College, especially the players, for making this dream a reality.
“Over the past 13 years, I’ve been very fortunate to be a part of an institution with a rich academic and basketball tradition. I look forward to helping restore as well as build a program that achieves excellence in every regard.”
Fox will transition the Mountaineers from the Southern Conference, the same league as Davidson, to the Sun Belt Conference for the 2014-2015 season.
Despite being at the bottom of the conference, Appalachian State was in the news this season, as Capel refused to release point guard Devonte Graham from his National Letter of Intent. Graham is spending this academic year at Brewster Academy (N.H.) and is barred from talking to any other Division I schools. Fox will need to handle this situation before he can begin to build a program like Davidson, which has become a successful mid-major program, appearing in six NCAA tournaments since 2002.
A press conference to introduce Fox is scheduled for Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m. at the Appalachian Athletics Center.
