HARROGATE, Tenn. -- Jasher Cox has stepped down as the athletics director at Lincoln Memorial University to assume the same position at another institution. The announcement by Cox, who took over in November of 2019, was made Friday morning.

"I have really enjoyed my time as a Railsplitter," Cox said. "I was able to work for over 400 amazing student-athletes, accompanied by outstanding co-workers. I am eternally grateful for my time here and would like to thank Dr. Pete DeBusk, Dr. Clayton Hess and Dr. Jody Goins for giving me the opportunity to serve LMU. It is my hope that the campus continues to grow and be successful for years to come." In his first year at LMU, Cox oversaw an athletic department that witnessed four teams ranked in the top-15 nationally in their respective sport (men's basketball, men's golf, softball, and men's bowling) for the entirety of 2019-20. The men's basketball team enjoyed a 32-1 record that included a regular season and conference championship, as well as an all-divisions leading 32-game win streak that was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The men's golf team won three tournament championships during the season, and the women's soccer team won their second-straight South Atlantic Conference (SAC) championship. The softball team (16-5) and men's volleyball team (14-4) were also off to great starts before their respective seasons were halted. In February of 2020, Cox created the AD's Academic Squad, a merit-based honor for Railsplitter student-athletes. Additionally, during the summer of 2020, he introduced revolutionary programming for student-athletes with "The Railway | A Five-Part Professional Development Series" that was aimed at giving student-athletes, coaches, and administrators a look at the outside world and the possible career paths that go along with it. The series featured the likes of Dawn Staley, head coach of the United States Women's National Team/current South Carolina head women's coach, former NBA star Eric Snow and Mark Wright, responsible for the launch of ESPN the Magazine. The unique COVID-19 athletic year did not stop his programs from flourishing. Ending the 2020-21 season on a 30-game home court winning streak, men's basketball captured its league record ninth SAC regular season title in 11 years. Selected to the NCAA Championship field for the 10th time in 11 seasons, the Railsplitters made yet another trip to the Elite Eight and reached the national semifinals for the third time in the last six years after claiming their third Southeast Regional championship. His top-seeded and second-ranked men's golf team made a fifth consecutive NCAA South/Southeast Regional appearance and missed the national qualifying cut by a slender three strokes while softball fell seven innings shy of making the school's first-ever appearance in the field of eight national championship series. The Railsplitters boasted a 38-8 record, which tied the most victories in a single season in program history, earned the 2021 SAC regular season championship and boasted a top-five national ranking. Prior to his time at LMU, Cox held administrative roles at Tuskegee University, the Horizon League, the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and Alabama State University.
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