OMAHA, Neb. — Mike Fox was part of almost every major milestone the University of North Carolina baseball program has achieved, either as a player or coach. A national championship was all that eluded him.
He retired six years ago as the program’s all-time leader in head coaching wins, but his attachment to the Tar Heels remains strong as ever.
Fox, 70, watched from North Carolina’s fan section at Charles Schwab Field Omaha as the Tar Heels swept through three games at the College World Series over the past week-plus to reach the championship round for the first time since he led them to their first two finals in 2006 and 2007.
As he enjoyed some down time at the team hotel Thursday, his emotions began running high as he thought out loud about how he would react if North Carolina beat Oklahoma in the best-of-three series that starts Saturday night.
“Somebody’s probably going to have to grab me to keep me from jumping on the dogpile,” he said, laughing.