Missouri State

MICHAEL FOX
Football, 1989-90
Inducted 2014

Michael Fox was a two-year starting defensive end for the football Bears of coach Jesse Branch in 1989 and 1990 on Missouri State's only two NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoff teams. The Bears also claimed the school's only two Missouri Valley Football Conference titles with season records of 10-3 in 1989 and 9-3 in 1990, and reached the second round of the NCAA playoff bracket in 1989. The 1989 Bears were a perfect 6-0 at home and their only league loss was a one-point setback at Eastern Illinois. Missouri State knocked off Maine in the playoff opener before falling to eventual national runner-up Stephen F. Austin in the second round. The 1990 ballclub opened with the program's first-ever win over a Division I-A team with a victory at UNLV and wound up tied for the league title with Northern Iowa in a narrow three-point loss at UNI. MSU drew Idaho in the NCAA playoffs and dropped six-point decision to the Vandals to close the campaign. A product of Meridian (Miss.) High who came to the Bears after two seasons at Garden City (Kan.) Community College where he was his team's Most Valuable Player and earned junior college All-America selection. Fox earned MVFC all-conference first team selection both his seasons at MSU. He equaled the Missouri State single season record in sacks as a junior with 16 and finished his MSU days tied for third in career sacks. His 27 career sacks resulted in 168 yards in losses by opposing quarterbacks. He also led the Bears in forced fumbles and blocked kicks as a junior and in forced fumbles as a senior, and was second among the Bears' defensive linemen in total tackles both his Missouri State seasons. He had two sacks in each of three different games as a senior. Fox and his family live in Springfield where he is as an electrician for Multi-Craft.