Did Mark Fox deserve a raise? Some members of the Dawg Sports community certainly thought so, and, evidently, Greg McGarity agreed, as Coach Fox has received both a pay bump and an extension of his contract from an official-sounding body with an unwieldy albeit self-explanatory name, the University of Georgia Athletic Association Board of Directors Executive Committee.
The $400,000 pay increase given to Coach Fox by the University of Georgia Athletic Association Board of Directors Executive Committee---sorry, but it's just plain fun to say!---ups his salary total to a cool $1.7 million per year. In addition, an extra year was tacked onto his contract term, which was designed to keep Coach Fox in Athens at least through 2016.
This seems like a reasonable move after a promising campaign. By guiding the Bulldogs to an NCAA Tournament berth in just his second season on the job, Coach Fox earned a raise and an extension, but, because we have been down this road before, Greg McGarity was prudent to learn the lesson of Georgia Tech's experience with Paul Hewitt: don't tie your hands by breaking the bank over one good year.
If, as I believe to be the case, last season was the start of a trend rather than an aberration, there will be more raises and contract extensions to come. In the meantime, though, Coach Fox has produced new fervor for Georgia hoops (as I can attest from personal experience), which warrants this vote of confidence from the University of Georgia Athletic Association Board of Directors Executive Committee (all right, I'll stop). Here's hoping he can keep it rolling.
Go 'Dawgs!