Georgia Tech Athletics Donor Profile: Sheldon Fox

One of Sheldon Fox's earliest memories is of his dad always singing 'Ramblin' Wreck.' Little did he know then that he'd later don the white and gold as a linebacker and become a "helluva engineer."

Despite his father's subliminal urging, Fox wasn't really interested in going to Georgia Tech in 1977 as he completed high school in Miami, Florida. Instead, he had his heart set on becoming a bulldog. No, not those hated mutts in Athens, but the Ivy League variety in Connecticut.

"I really wanted to play football and baseball at Yale," he said, "but I ended up on the waiting list. I was interested in studying electrical engineering, so Georgia Tech was the next logical choice."

Fox still held out hope for acceptance to Yale as a transfer, but a funny thing happened on the way to the mailbox. "That fall I walked on to the football team, and I was offered a scholarship the following the spring," said Fox. "That was all I needed to convince me to stay."

One of the captains of the '77 team was fellow linebacker Freeman Colbert, who was also an electrical engineering major. His ability to balance both football and academics struck a chord with Fox.

"I looked at him as an example of what people could do if they worked very hard," Fox said. "He was a guy that had it figured out."

Throughout his career, Fox set the standard for what it meant to be a student-athlete. His name is peppered throughout the Georgia Tech football annuls in the categories that recognize classroom prowess.

He was named academic all-America and all-ACC in 1980 and awarded the L.W. "Chip" Robert Cup as Georgia Tech's top senior student athlete in 1981. Simultaneously, the college of engineering tapped him as the outstanding senior in electrical engineering.

"It was a matter of disciplining yourself to a system, and giving each the time that it needs," explained Fox. "It ended up taking up a lot of time, but neither one was drudgery, so it made it easy."

His gridiron memories are still vivid, including witnessing history on November 11, 1978, a cold, snowy day in Colorado Springs at the Air Force Academy. "I remember playing in that snowstorm, where Eddie Lee Ivory ran for the NCAA record (356 yards)," Fox remembered. "He had never see snow before, and he was sick with the flu, I believe. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen."

Fox's personal highlight as a Yellow Jacket came in an early-season 33-7 rout of William & Mary in 1979. Fellow linebacker Lance Skelton stripped the quarterback of the ball, and Fox picked it up and raced for the end zone. "I ran the final 10 yards and scored my only touchdown. It was definitely something special, and my parents were in the stands to see it."

While still an undergraduate student, Fox took several classes that awarded credit towards a master's degree in electrical engineering, allowing him to earned a postgraduate degree shortly after completing his bachelor's degree. Fox went on to earn an MBA from the University of North Carolina after being awarded the prestigious Moorhead scholarship. While there, he interned at the Harris Corporation, a global communications equipment company. The internship led to a job offer, and 18 years later Fox now serves as vice president of Business Development for the Government Communications Systems Division at the company's headquarters in Melbourne, Florida.

The lessons learned as a student and athlete at Georgia Tech still resonate for Fox today. "If you discipline and apply yourself, you can do more than you could ever imagine. If you do that, anything is possible. That's what I took away from the Georgia Tech experience."

The Fox clan, which includes wife Cindy and three children, resides in Oviedo, Florida just outside of Orlando. They make it up to Atlanta for several games a year, and Fox has been an active contributor to the Alexander-Tharpe Fund.

And in keeping with tradition, Fox is doing all he can to steer the next Fox generation towards Tech. "My wife's a Gator, so I've tried to bring up my kids right as Tech fans," he joked. "It's not always easy, but I'm trying."