WAC Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

By Joey Loose | Jul 16, 2020

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - MARCH 21: Ivan Aurrecoechea #15 of the New Mexico State Aggies reacts during the second half against the Auburn Tigers in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 21, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

9 of 11

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 22: California Golden Bears head coach Mark Fox (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

3. Mark Fox – Nevada (2004-2009)

Before they joined the Mountain West, Nevada is an awesome program in the WAC and Fox is a major reason for that success. He joined the program as an assistant in 2000, having previously spent time on the staff of Washington and Kansas State. He became head coach in 2004 when Trent Johnson moved to Stanford and the success only increased for the Wolf Pack.

In each of Fox’s first three seasons, the Wolf Pack won the regular-season title and made the NCAA Tournament. Nevada won first-round games in both 2005 and 2007, though were upset in the first round as a 5-seed in 2006. Fox went 123-43 in his five years at Nevada, leading the program to a pair of CBI bids in his final two years. They won more than 80% of WAC games along the way.

Fox departed for Georgia in 2009, taking full advantage of Nevada’s success. He didn’t make a similar impact with the Bulldogs in the SEC, but got another shot at the power conference level at California, accepting that job last season. Nevada really took a downward turn after Fox’s departure, further demonstrating how great Fox was for this program and conference.