Cox is switching jobs at WVU

By Mickey Furfari
For the Times West Virginian

MORGANTOWN July 25, 2008 01:48 am

— Brad Cox wanted a new challenge, so he has resigned as West Virginia University’s assistant athletic director for compliance to become the school’s assistant director of admissions.
The change is effective next Monday.
“I’ve really enjoyed working the past 12 years in the athletic department,” Cox said Thursday. “We’ve come a long way since I took over the compliance program with just two graduate assistants to help.”
Now there are two full-time assistants plus GAs.
Cox is proud of the fact that WVU has had no serious NCAA rules violations during his watch. He also is appreciative of the opportunity Athletic Director Ed Pastilong gave him, first as assistant to Roger Jeffries and then as the director when Jeffries left.
The Newell native, who played football and ran track at Oak Glen High, is a 1981 graduate of West Liberty with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. His first job out of college was in data processing.
Eventually he settled on a career in sport management and in 1992 earned a master’s degree from WVU. Cox had checked the Mountaineer Athletic Club and WVU’s academic services in marketing before finally being hired as a graduate assistant in compliance.
His employment became full time in 1992.
Between 12 and 14 former graduate assistants who worked under Cox are still in compliance work, including four with the NCAA, one for the Big East and another for the ACC. Most of those are No. 2 appointees if not No. 1.
“That’s encouraging to me,” Cox said. “They were all good people and learned a lot while here,” he said. “I hope I sparked interest in them. We’ve all stayed in contact.”
Pastilong, who organized the compliance unit in 1989, said he’s grateful for the outstanding job Cox has done for 12 years. He hopes to have a replacement on the job before the first football game.
Cox will be available for a smooth transition. He noted that in some ways he still will be dealing with athletics and student-athletes.
“We’ve worked hard to keep coaches informed about what they can do and what they cannot do,” he said. “This book contains 440 pages of NCAA rules and regulations, and I know its contents pretty good.
“There are thousands of interpretations, but the coaches need to know only what’s in about 60 pages. I’ve looked at this as sort of a consulting job, and everyone has been pretty cooperative.
“When I have to say ‘no,’ I tell them exactly why. So they understand.”
Cox admittedly has been offered similar opportunities at other institutions, but he said he and his wife, Abby, love West Virginia and did not want to leave the state. Mrs. Cox has been a nurse at Monongalia General Hospital for 20 years. Their son Ryan is a sophomore at WVU.
Brad’s parents also reside in Morgantown.