After a legendary career as the head cross country and track & field coach at Concord, Mike Cox begins his second year as the director of compliance for the CU Athletic Department in 2026-27. 

A native of Mercer County, Cox led Shawnee Carnett to two NCAA Division II National Championships during the 2011 outdoor season and again in the indoor season of 2014 in the 800-meter run. It was Concord's first national championship in any sport. Under Cox's tutelage, Carnett was a six-time All-American wearing the Maroon and Gray of Concord.

His most recent top tier accomplishment was coaching Issac Prather to First Team All-American honors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase during the 2023 NCAA Division II National Championships. Prather was CU's first First Team All-American in over a decade. 

He coached two All-Americans during the same track & field season. In the spring of 2021, Prather and Jason Weitzel were Second Team All-Americans in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Division II National Championships at Grand Valley State in Michigan. Weitzel and Prather were the third and fourth All-Americans in men's track & field history and the firsts since 2012.

Prather followed up his 2021 All-American honor with another Second Team All-American laurel during the 2022 outdoor season. Additionally, Prather was an All-American during the 2021 cross country, a first for Cox and the men's and women's cross country programs. 

Along with Carnett, Prather and Weitzel, John Paul Paul Blankenship (shot put) and RJ Anderson (60-meter dash indoors) have been All-Americans under Cox's coaching.

The 2021 cross country season was successful for the Mountain Lions. Along with Prather being an All-American, it was just the second time in program history that CU men's team has qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championships. Cox led Concord to a 27th-place finish. For the Concord women's cross country, Hannah Altizer and Emily Wallace were the first two all-region athletes with the help fo Cox's guidance. 

One of the top coaches in the region, Cox is a seven-time West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. Additionally, Cox has been awarded Mountain East Conference Coach of the Year five times to bring his career total to 12. In the fall of 2016, Cox earned his highest coaching honor to date as he was voted by his peers as the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association Atlantic Regional Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year for guiding the team to an appearance at the NCAA Division II Championship Meet after finishing fourth at the regional meet. It was the first time in school and conference history that a team qualified for the national championship meet. 

Cox lives in Princeton with his wife, Tabitha. They have two boys, Miller and West.