NEW YORK (March 20, 2026) -- Jim Fox is a longtime volunteer of the AAU, currently on the AAU Board of Directors. He has dedicated much of his life to creating a better path for youth athletes. This dedication has been recognized, as Fox is set to be honored with the Spirit of the Game Award.

Few individuals have devoted as much of their lives to both public service and youth basketball as Jim Fox, this year’s recipient of the Spirit of the Game Award at Midtown Madness. The honor is especially fitting for someone whose life’s work reflects the same commitment to integrity, mentorship, and service that defined the legacy of Tom Konchalski.

For many years, Jim Fox and Tom Konchalski shared a close friendship grounded in their mutual love of basketball and their belief in the game’s ability to shape young lives. Tom deeply respected Jim’s tireless efforts to create opportunities for young players, while Jim admired Tom’s wisdom, humility, and unmatched knowledge of the sport. Their relationship was built not simply on basketball, but on a shared conviction that the game’s greatest value lies in the character it helps build.

Jim’s professional life reflects that same dedication to service. He spent nearly three decades with the U.S. Probation Department in the Eastern District of New York, rising from officer trainee to Chief of the Department before retiring in 2004. In that role, he helped oversee one of the largest probation offices in the country, supervising thousands of federal offenders while helping guide the administration of justice with steady leadership.

At the same time, Jim built an extraordinary legacy in youth basketball. For more than forty years he has coached, organized, and expanded programs that provide young athletes with structure, mentorship, and opportunity.

Among his most influential accomplishments is the founding of Lightning Basketball, which has grown under his leadership from a small program into one of the largest AAU organizations in the country. He also helped establish the Island Garden Super League and co-founded the Island Garden Basketball Arena, a year-round hub for leagues, tournaments, camps, and clinics that welcomes hundreds of thousands of players and families each year.

Jim’s leadership extends across the national youth basketball landscape as well. He serves as Governor and District Boys’ Basketball Chair for the New York Metropolitan chapter of the Amateur Athletic Union and remains active in supporting the continued growth of grassroots basketball.

In honoring Jim Fox with the Spirit of the Game Award, the Tom Konchalski Foundation celebrates a lifetime devoted to service, both in the justice system and in the basketball community and a friendship that reflected the very best values the game can teach.