Coastal Georgia Mourns the Passing of Legendary Coach Cox

Coach Gerald Cox, Men’s Basketball Head Coach Emeritus and the namesake of the Coach Cox Court passed away last night. He will be remembered as a legendary coach, a mentor, a friend, a teacher and a man who gave everything he could to Mariner Athletics.

“He was one of the best in this business. Coach Cox, you will truly be missed,” said Head Men’s Basketball Coach Jesse Watkins. “You fought to the end and now you can do all the coaching and fishing you want to do. I will cherish all the memories we had from playing for you and coaching alongside of you. You were a mentor to a lot of people here on the Earth and that was your gift from God. You gave me an opportunity to become a basketball player and now a head coach. No matter the condition you always wanted to be at the gym to watch practice or just to talk. My prayers go out to the Cox family in this difficult time. Coach you are with the great one’s, John Wooden, Dean Smith, and many others who spent their entire lives molding young men. We will always love you.”

“The Mariners have lost one of our most beloved leaders. I am blessed to have known Gerald as a friend and mentor. I will greatly miss visiting with him at practices and seeing him at our games. Coach Cox meant so much to the many who have passed through our campus. The relationships he built and lessons he taught will have lifelong impact on so many. My prayers are with Polly and the rest of Coach’s family,” said Athletic Director Dr. William Carlton.

Coach Gerald F. Cox served the College of Coastal Georgia in several roles during a long and successful 32-year career from 1982 to 2014. Coach Cox served as Director of Athletics, Instructor of Physical Education and Men’s Basketball Head Coach. In each of these roles, he had lasting and positive impact on the lives of hundreds of students and student-athletes he served along the way.

From 1982 through 2011 when the school competed as a junior college, Coach Cox guided the Mariners to seven Georgia College Athletic Association conference championships (1984, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2002) and also took two teams (1985-86 and 2001-2002) to Hutchinson, Kan., for the Sweet 16 in the National Junior College Athletic Association national championship tournament. The 1991-92 Mariners team posted a school-best 27-7 record, won the conference championship and qualified for the NJCAA national tournament.

As a result of his significant impact on the school and community, at his retirement in 2014, the College of Coastal Georgia honored Coach Cox by naming him “Men’s Basketball Head Coach Emeritus.” In 2020, the Mariner Athletics Department renamed the basketball court in the Howard Coffin Gym the “Coach Gerald Cox Court”.

Original article published at https://www.coastalgeorgiasports.com/article/2794