This auction item is for an autographed basketball from the University of Georgia's Head Basketball coach, Mark Fox.

Mark Fox continues his stewardship of the Georgia basketball program, a journey he's taken since April of 2009. His first six seasons have produced plenty of highlights and milestones, but most important, they have yielded a sturdy foundation that certainly portends of a bright long-term future for the Bulldogs.

Fox's most recent Georgia squad made history during the 2015 season. For just the 13th time in 110 years of basketball at UGA, the Bulldogs posted a 20-victory season. They posted consecutive 20-win seasons for just the second time in program history. They earned an NCAA Tournament berth for the 12th time in school history. They posted a second straight top-four finish in the SEC. And they won more road games than any Georgia team of the past 25 seasons, including a school-record six SEC road wins.

The 2015 season came on the heels of another historic season. In 2014, Georgia went 20-14 and tied for second place in the final SEC standings, a milestone accomplished by just three other UGA teams in 82 years of SEC basketball. In the three years since the SEC expanded to 14 teams, in fact, Georgia ranks fourth in the league with a 32-22 mark. Additionally, the 32 SEC wins during the three most recent seasons is a UGA record.

Throughout his first six seasons at Georgia, Fox has spoken often of instilling a winning culture in the program. Nowhere is this more tangible than in his team's academic pursuits. By the end of Spring Semester 2015, no fewer than 18 Bulldogs will have earned undergraduate degrees in Fox's tenure. Additionally, the Georgia program was recognized in 2014 -- for the second straight year -- as ranking among the top 10 percent of all Division I programs for its multi-year APR score, the most accurate metric available for measuring academic performance.

Fox became the 21st head basketball coach in the history of the University of Georgia on April 3, 2009. The native Kansan arrived in Athens after five successful seasons in a similar capacity at the University of Nevada, which played in the postseason in each of those five years.

During Fox's tenure as head coach, Nevada won at least 21 games each season, won or shared four straight Western Athletic Conference titles and played in three consecutive NCAA Tournaments. He was thrice named the WAC Don Haskins Coach of the Year.

In all, Fox spent nine seasons coaching basketball at the Reno school. His first four (2001-04) came as the Wolf Pack's associate head coach under Trent Johnson. When Johnson left Nevada for the head coaching job at Stanford, Fox assumed the lead chair, and the program kept its torrid pace.

As an assistant in 2003-04, Fox helped Nevada reach the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the first time in school history as the Wolf Pack turned in a 25-9 overall record. Nevada registered upset victories over Michigan State and Gonzaga in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Nevada also tied for a share of the Western Athletic Conference regular-season crown for the first time in school history and captured the WAC Tournament title.

Fox played college basketball at Garden City (Kan.) Community College (1987-89) under former Nevada head coach Jim Carey and then lettered two seasons at Eastern New Mexico University (1989-91) in Portales, N.M. He was a first-team Academic All-Lone Star Conference selection in 1991.