Richard Fox Position: Assistant Coach Season at SDSU: 11th Season

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Richard Fox enters his 11th season as an assistant coach at San Diego State. In 1998 when the NCAA implemented the pole vault for women, Fox became a member of the Aztec staff as a volunteer coach. Since then, Fox has brought SDSU to the forefront in collegiate pole-vaulting as one of the nation's premier programs. Few programs can compare to the continued tradition of having multiple athletes provisionally qualifying for the NCAA championships. Fox is proud of the team concept he has built where the pole vaulters combine to outscore their competitors at the MWC championship meets. Teaching solid technique in the art of the pole vault along with building strength through gymnastics, the weight room and conditioning are the Aztecs' strong points. Fox has coached every athlete on SDSU's top 10 indoor and outdoor pole vault list.

This past fall, Fox completed his fifth season as an assistant cross country coach. During this time Fox has worked with three all-Mountain West Conference runners, Marie Nilsson and Lital Azulay, who earned first-team all-MWC and all-district honors and Christal Cuadra who earned second-team all-league.

Fox's athletes have posted tremendous success over the past 10 years. SDSU has had 50 all-conference performances, won nine Mountain West Conference titles, provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships 39 times and sent nine to the national meet, with three earning All-America honors. The Aztecs have also broken 11 indoor and 10 outdoor school records and have set both the MWC championship and overall conference records numerous times.

At the MWC Championships, Fox helped Shayla Balentine (2005), Erin Asay (2004) and Stephanie Bagan (2007) earn the league's Outstanding Female Performance award at the indoor meet.

On an elite and national level, Fox has coached his athletes as they competed at the USA Track and Field Championships a combined 12 times. Two Aztecs have competed at the 2000 Olympic Trials, placing fifth and 12th, while three of his freshman athletes have qualified for the Junior National meet. One collegiate vaulter held the top vault for the 2005 outdoor season.

Under Fox, SDSU athletes post one of the strongest indoor and outdoor top-10 lists in America. During his tenure, Fox coached the just the fifth collegiate vaulter to clear the 13-foot barrier and the 14th and 16th collegiate vaulters to clear the 14-foot mark.

San Diego State has produced the fourth-most NCAA All-Americans nationally and have the most individual indoor and outdoor pole vault champions in the MWC. The Aztecs also have the third-most vaulters in the nation to clear 13 feet.

Prior to joining the Aztec staff, Fox coached the pole vault for one year at Torrey Pines High School, leading his student-athlete to the school record.

Fox was a four-year track and field team member and varsity letterwinner at San Diego State from 1988-92. He is a 1992 graduate of SDSU with a bachelor of science in finance and a postgraduate master's of criminal justice from Boston University.

Fox was a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) for one year and has been with the San Diego Police Department as an officer since 1994, where he works patrol in the Ocean Beach area. Fox is also a member of the SWAT Team. Fox is a certified member as a USATF official and volunteers as a pole vault official at the CIF Championships each year.

Fox completed an open 5K road run in 17:16 in 2004 and continues to compete in the decathlon at the Police & Fire Games.