The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 ■ 35 "Of course, winning the national cham- pionship in my best event and breaking the record of one of the greatest swimmers of all time in the United States is a highlight, but I wouldn't trade anything for that conference championship and that team win that we had," Fox said. "It was really special." Post-Collegiate Success In And Out Of Pool Fox's performance at NCAAs earned him a slot in the World University Games in 1993 in Buffalo, N.Y. He trained in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and then impressed in Buffalo. He won four gold medals and set top times in the world. "All of a sudden, I went from nowhere to very relevant," Fox recalled. His experience in Buffalo affirmed to Fox that he was going all-in on making the Olympics in 1996. He followed up the World University Games by winning his first national title and then participating in his first international meet — the Pan Pacific Games in Japan. "Ninety-three was a special year for me," Fox said. "It would change the direction that my life would take." He moved to Colorado Springs to train full-time from 1994 through the Olympic Trials in 1996. Yet Fox had the misfortune of falling ill with the flu the week before the trials. "I went from thinking that I had a chance to win the 50- and 100-meter freestyles there to just wanting to make the relay in the 100," he said. Fox deviated from his traditional ap- proach of sprinting as fast as he could and seeing if anyone could keep up with him to focusing on beating two of the swimmers in the finals so that he could qualify to be a part of the relay team. Thus, he relaxed the first 50 and worried most about finishing ahead of those next to him. "What I like to think about the whole experience is that I had done enough work to be good enough to make the team even if I wasn't at my best," he said. Fox made the relay team, and swam in the prelims on the squad that won a gold medal in the Olympics. The experience in Atlanta proved to be his last as a competi- tive swimmer. "If it hadn't been four years that I would have had to wait again, I would have stuck with the sport and tried again," Fox noted. "I do feel like I left a few things unfin- ished, but I think sometimes that helps motivate you for whatever is next in your life, and that was the case for me." Fox's plan had been to combine his civil engineering degree with a master's in busi- ness and become a real estate developer in Raleigh. He followed that path to an MBA, but along the way he met some employees of Goldman Sachs and liked what he saw. "They were the best at what they did," Fox said. "They were humble. They worked hard, you could just tell by the nature of how they described it." Fox felt he could be part of a team that could do special things and pursued an intern- ship that turned into a full-time job. He is now in his 23rd year with the company. He started in Philadelphia for six years before running the Southeast Division out of Atlanta for 10 years. In 2016, he relocated to Dallas, where he runs Southwest Private Wealth Management and was promoted to partner of the firm. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Fox and his family moved back to Raleigh, although he is still based in Dallas. "It probably sounds like a tough path, but it's actually been fantastic," Fox said. "We always wanted to be here. I have a respon- sibility to my firm, and I am taking care of that responsibility. But I also have one to my family, and they are where they want to be and are happy. "My kids are old enough where they don't seem to be home much anyway." Both of his sons swim with the TAC Ti- tans in Cary, one of the top programs in the country. "It's fun for me now to sit in the stands and not have to be anything more than a swim dad," he said. And Fox will never be too far from NC State. "We have a very tight alumni community that spans generations," Fox noted. "We all know each other pretty well. We stick to- gether through thick and thin, good years and bad years for the program. We have all stayed close." It's a community that has helped continue Fox's lifelong association with the Red and White. ■ " Of course, winning the national championship in my best event and breaking the record of one of the greatest swimmers of all time in the United States is a highlight, but I wouldn't trade anything for that conference championship and that team win that we had. It was really special. Fox on his collegiate accomplishments, including the team ACC title in 1992