Temple University Athletics
Men's Crew
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- coachfox@temple.edu
Bernard (BJ) Fox joined the Temple Men’s Crew coaching staff as an assistant ahead of the 2023 spring season. He comes to the Owls with experience in collegiate coaching and also competed at Mercyhurst College and Rutgers in the late 1990s. He joined the Owls after recent coaching tenures as an assistant coach with Stockton University women’s rowing and head coach of Mainland High School (N.J.).
Fox is a graduate of Atlantic City High School (91’) and Rutgers University (96’). He was a varsity oarsman at Mercyhurst College and Rutgers University, graduating from Rutgers in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in History/Political Science.
As a three-year varsity rower for Atlantic City he won the prestigious Stotesbury Cup and earned silver and bronze medals in the SRAA National championships. Fox was a four-year collegiate varsity rower rowing for Mercyhurst College and Rutgers University. In the summer of 1995 he rowed at Cornell University under John Ferris as a member of the US Rowing pre-elite lightweight 8. After college, he coached boys and girls at Atlantic City and Mainland Regional high schools between 1996-2000 with boats medaling in the NJ state Championships, Philadelphia City Championships, Stotesbury Cup and SRAA Nationals.
After time away from coaching to help raise his three daughters and focus on his career, Fox went back to coaching novice at Mainland Regional High School girls in 2018 and Stockton University women. In 2020 he became head coach of the Mainland girls rowing team, increasing the team size from 41 rowers to 65 for the 2023-2024 season. Coach Fox also runs a high school girl and collegiate womens summer rowing program of over 50 rowers at Viking Rowing Club in Ventnor, NJ., hosting college coaches for recruiting visits. Since taking over as head coach in 2021, Fox has had 16 girls (including all of his seniors in the last two graduating classes) move on to row in Division I college programs.
Outside of his experience with crew, Fox previously served for the Atlantic City Fire Department starting in 1998 and went on to be promoted to Fire Captain in November of 2007.He was an instructor for the ACFD recruit class of 2010, then assigned to Rescue 1, the Atlantic City fire department's special operations unit, where he remained until his retirement in June of 2023.
He was a member of the Atlantic City and Longport Beach patrols and competed in South Jersey Lifeguard races throughout his beach patrol career. Fox still actively competes in lifeguard races, indoor erg races and rows fall head races, including the Head of the Schuylkill for Viking Rowing Club masters program.
Coach Fox is a National Strength and Conditioning Association certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS). He also has a Masters of Science degree in Kinesiology with a dual concentration in orthopedic rehabilitation and corrective exercise.
Fox currently resides in Margate, NJ with his wife Kathleen and three daughters Madelyn (a junior rower at Temple), Megan (a sophomore swimmer at Rutgers), and Lauren, a multi-sport athlete at Atlantic City High school.
