the University of Lynchburg's sports would be where they are if it were not for the works of Dr. James Fox. Dr. Fox arrived at Lynchburg College in December of 1945. Upon arrival Dr. Fox was appointed the position of Assistant Professor of Physical Education and Health. He came into the institution with no intentions of completely changing the curriculum or the way in which sports were conducted. However, that quickly changed and the school began to shift a little bit.
Once receiving an offer for the job at Lynchburg College, Dr. Fox took it and ran with it. Upon arrival, the only varsity sport in play at the institution was Men's Basketball. Within his first year on campus, Dr. Fox was able to help advocate and secure a spot for two new varsity sports at the institution. These two sports were Baseball and Track and Field, both of which Dr. Fox went on to help coach for different periods of time. Dr. Fox wanted to make sure that the institution made it a priority to make additions to varsity sports based upon student interest. This goes to show in recent years, when in 2019 the University of Lynchburg reinstated the Varsity sport of Men's and Women's swimming.
As a coach, Dr. Fox saw copious amounts of success. In 1951 he saw a record of 17-3, while coaching his prime sport of Baseball for the institution. One of his most notable sport victories though was when his Cross Country squad, in 1968, upset the District 29 powerhouses Appalachian St., Pembrooke, and High Point to earn the ticket to the National Championships. The championships were held in Omaha, Nebraska, a far trip for the Lynchburg, Virginia team. However, Dr. Fox was not missing the opportunity. He drove the team, by van, to the championships to compete and end the season on a high note. Not to mention, this was after already having the most astounding season to date for the program.
It is important to note that Dr. Fox was not just successful on the field and court, he was also very successful in the classroom. Dr. Fox was eventually named the Chairman of the Division of Applied Studies and Chairman of the Department of Health and Physical Education during his time at the institution. He ended up teaching a full set of classes, including the fan favorite of folk dancing, something he found interesting back in Oregon. His most notable accomplishment while a professor at the college was the fact that he was the first instructor certified to train driver's education instructors in the state of Virginia and developed the program to train driver's education instructors. Not to mention, in the 1960's, the Virginia Department of Education used the information and statistics gathered from Dr. Fox's doctoral dissertation to set state standards for physical fitness.
All of the accomplishments by Dr. James Fox certainly do not go unnoticed. Countless faculty and staff still use his coaching principles to drive their teams towards victory. Not to mention, the physical education program and department is still very similar to the way in which he left it. He truly left his footprint all over the, now, University of Lynchburg community. Without his hard work and dedication to the college things may have seemed a lot different, however it still continues to strive for academic and athletic achievements that were once thought unimaginable. The university feeds off of the idea that its students and faculty grow from the help of one another, contributing to its liberal arts ideals. This is something that I know Dr. James Fox would be really proud of, if he were here today.