From Brandeis University Athletics
Vanessa Cox, department administrator for the Brandeis Department of Athletics, was killed in a car crash in New Hampshire on Feb. 12. She was 31.
Cox joined the Brandeis Athletics Department in October 2011 and was instrumental in the role of student-athlete recruitment for Brandeis as well as a key organizer of the Friends of Brandeis Athletics Hall of Fame ceremonies. In addition to her administrative responsibilities, she was the head coach of the club women’s lacrosse team.
“We are all shocked and saddened by this news,” said Sheryl Sousa ’90, associate vice president of health and wellness and director of athletics, physical education and recreation at Brandeis. “Vanessa was such a vital member of the Brandeis family.”
Prior to coming to Brandeis, Cox was the women’s lacrosse coach at MIT for four seasons, compiling a 36-26 record with the Engineers. She was named the NEWMAC Coach of the Year in 2008, the first such award in program history. Cox served as the team’s assistant coach from 2005-07, and had served as an assistant equipment manager and event management intern at MIT.
Cox graduated from the University of Vermont with a B.A. in political science in 2005, and earned an M.S. in sports leadership from Northeastern University in 2011. She was a four-year member of the Vermont lacrosse team, serving as captain her junior and senior seasons. She also competed for the Canadian National Women’s Lacrosse Team in the 2009 and 2013 Lacrosse World Cups.