3/9/2023 basketball Edit

Cal fires basketball coach Mark Fox after 3-29 season

Ryan Young • GoldenBearReport

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Cal wasted little time after the finish of a dismal 3-29 season, announcing the firing of men's basketball coach Mark Fox on Thursday, a day after the Golden Bears lost in the opening round of the Pac-12 tournament.

Fox went 38-87 in four years at Cal, producing no winning seasons. His best mark was 14-18 in his first year, while this three-win nadir is the by far the worst mark in school history for a full season.

"I want to thank Mark for his unwavering commitment to our men's basketball program," Cal athletic director Jim Knowlton said in a statement. "He led the team through some challenging times, and always did so with the class and professionalism we have come to expect from him. Mark understood and embraced our University's mission and ideals, and was always an exemplary representative of our department. I wish him the best of luck in the future.

"This was a difficult decision and one that I do not take lightly. After deliberately and holistically evaluating all aspects of our program, I felt a change was needed at this time. We will always be guided by the best interests of our student-athletes, as well as the values of our University."

The official news release to announce the move noted that Cal will immediately begin a national search for its next head coach.

Speaking before this season, Fox underscored the disruption of the pandemic to attempt to rebuild the program, which was coming off back-to-back eight-win seasons under previous coach Wyking Jones. And then throughout this year, Fox lamented the injury setbacks the team endured, as its two most significant transfer additions both missed the majority of the season with Devin Askew playing just 13 games and DeJuan Clayton playing just 9.

Fox previously spent five seasons as the head coach at Nevada and nine at Georgia. He has a 324-263 career record.

The Bears' last winning season came under Cuonzo Martin in 2016-17, as he posted back-to-back seasons with at least 20 wins and reached the 2016 NCAA Tournament.