Jamie Dixon

Jamie Dixon

Jamie Dixon
Sport(s) Men's College Basketball
Current position
Title Head Coach
Team Pittsburgh Panthers
Record 307–111 (.734)
Biographical details
Born November 10, 1965
North Hollywood, CA
Playing career
1984–1987
1989–1990
Texas Christian
Hawke's Bay Hawks
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1989
1989–1991
1991–1992
1992–1994
1994–1998
1998–1999
1999–2003
2003–present
Te Aute College
LA Valley CC (asst.)
UC Santa Barbara (asst.)
Hawaii (asst.)
Northern Arizona (asst.)
Hawaii (asst.)
Pittsburgh (asst.)
Pittsburgh
Head coaching record
Overall 307–111 (.734)
Accomplishments and honors

Championships

Big East Regular Season Championship (2004, 2011)
Big East Tournament Championship (2008)
Gold medal - FIBA Under-19 World Championship (2009)

Awards

Big East Coach of the Year (2004)
Naismith College Coach of the Year (2009)
USA Basketball National Coach of the Year (2009)
CollegeInsider Big East Coach of the Year (2010)
Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year (2010)
Sporting News Coach of the Year (2011)

Jamie Dixon (born November 10, 1965) is an American basketball coach. He has served as the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh men's basketball team since 2003. In 2009 he was the head coach for the FIBA Under-19 2009 gold-medal winning United States national basketball team for which he was named the 2009 USA Basketball National Coach of the Year.[1] Dixon was named Big East Coach of the Year in 2004, Naismith College Coach of the Year in 2009, Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year in 2010, and the Sporting News National Coach of the Year award in 2011. Dixon played college basketball at Texas Christian University, was selected by the Washington Bullets in the 1987 NBA Draft,[2] and played professionally with the Continental Basketball Association's Lacrosse Catbirds and for Hawke's Bay Hawks of the New Zealand National Basketball League.[3]

Coaching career

Dixon began his coaching career in 1989 as the head coach at Te Aute College, a secondary school in New Zealand, before serving as an assistant at Los Angeles Valley College from 1989-1991. He then became an assistant coach at UC-Santa Barbara and then at the University of Hawaii.[4] Dixon then served as an assistant under Ben Howland at Northern Arizona University. After a brief stint as an assistant at Hawaii under Riley Wallace, he was reunited with Howland at Pitt in 1999. Dixon was promoted as Pittsburgh's head coach when Howland left for UCLA following the 2002–03 season.[5]

Pittsburgh

In ten years at Pitt, Dixon has a record of 262–86. He won 188 games in his first seven seasons, tying the NCAA Division I record for most wins in the first seven seasons of a head coaching career. Previously, Dixon's 162nd win, which came in the 2009 NCAA Tournament over Oklahoma State, broke the NCAA Division I record for most victories in the first six seasons as a head coach formerly held by former North Carolina State coach Everett Case. He was awarded the Naismith College Coach of the Year honors following the 2008-09 season.[6][7]

Jamie Dixon coaching during the Big East Tournament

Dixon won Big East Coach of the Year honors in 2004 for leading Pitt to a school-record 31 wins and the Big East regular season championship. He took Pitt to the final game of the Big East Men's Basketball Tournament in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008, winning the 2008 Big East Tournament Championship against No.1 seed Georgetown. He is Pitt's first and only head coach to guide the Panthers to seven consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and seven consecutive seasons of at least 20 overall wins and 10 league wins. In the NCAA tournament, Dixon led Pitt to the Sweet Sixteen in 2004 and 2007 and to the Elite Eight in 2009, a year that saw his Panthers earn their first-ever No.1 rankings in the AP Poll and Coaches' Poll, their first-ever victories over a No.1 ranked team (UConn, twice), and their first ever No.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament (East Region).[4]

His success at Pitt continued through the 2010 season, perhaps his best coaching performance to date. The Panthers tied for second place in the Big East and earned a No.2 seed in the Big East Tournament, despite being picked to finish 9th in the conference preseason poll. Dixon guided Pitt to yet another NCAA Tournament appearance, their seventh in his first seven years as head coach, and was awarded both the Big East Coach of the Year and Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Awards by CollegeInsider.com.[8] He is the first and only head coach in Pitt's history to lead his team to seven consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. At the end of the 2010 season, Dixon is the winningest coach in Big East history with a current .721 winning percentage in eight seasons of league games (98-38). He also stands second on Pitt's all-time wins list, behind only the legendary Doc Carlson.

On March 31, 2010, Pitt extended Dixon's contract by two years, which will make him Pitt's head coach through the 2017-18 season.[9]

On April 2, 2010, Dixon was named the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com.

On October 23, 2010, Dixon received national attention when he assisted in removing victims from a severe car accident in a Pittsburgh suburb.[10][11]

On December 22, 2010, Dixon won his 200th game with a 61-46 win over American. With the victory, Dixon tied the all-time NCAA Division I record held by Mark Few and Roy Williams for the fastest coach to earn 200 wins by achieving the mark in only eight seasons. The achievement of winning his first 200 out of 255 games also ranked Dixon among the all-time top-15 for the quickest coaches to achieve 200 victories in regards to total number of games played.[12]

On March 2, 2011, Dixon won his 214th game with a 66-50 win over South Florida. With the victory, Dixon broke the all-time NCAA record for the most wins in a coach's first eight seasons. Following the regular season, the Panthers received a Number 1 seed in the Southeast Region of the NCAA tournament, where the Panthers defeated 16th seed UNC Asheville. They were upset in the third round by Butler University.

Dixon was named the 2010-11 Sporting News National Coach of the Year.[13]

From left: Brandin Knight, Jamie Dixon and Barry Rohrssen at Hank McCamish Pavilion, 2014

Outside of basketball, Dixon has been credited with a peripheral role in the Big East's decision to invite TCU to become the conference's 17th member. Specifically, he suggested to TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte that the school pursue Big East membership during a conversation at the 2010 TCUBaylor football game.[14] TCU later moved to the Big 12 Conference.

On March 23, 2013, Pitt would again extend Dixon's contract through the 2022-23 season.[15] The University of Pittsburgh moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference following the 2012-13 season with Dixon finishing atop the all-time list of head coaches for best conference winning percentage (.658, combined conference regular season and conference tournament games) in Big East Conference history.[15]

Notable players coached

United States

Jamie Dixon became the head coach of the United States under-19 men's national basketball team in 2009. That summer, he led the United States to its first gold medal in 18 years in the 2009 FIBA Under-19 World Championship held in Auckland, New Zealand.[16][17] For this accomplishment, Dixon was later named USA Basketball Coach of the Year.[1]

Acting

Jamie is a member of the Screen Actors Guild. He starred in various commercials as a child and into his early twenties, including ads for Volvo, Rice Krispies, Mattel and Bud Light.[18]

Head coaching record

Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Pittsburgh Panthers (Big East Conference) (2003–2013)
2003–04 Pittsburgh 31–5 13–3 1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2004–05 Pittsburgh 20–9 10–6 5th NCAA First Round
2005–06 Pittsburgh 25–8 10–6 T–4th NCAA Second Round
2006–07 Pittsburgh 29–8 12–4 T–2nd NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2007–08 Pittsburgh 27–10 10–8 7th NCAA Second Round
2008–09 Pittsburgh 31–5 15–3 T–2nd NCAA Elite Eight
2009–10 Pittsburgh 25–9 13–5 T–2nd NCAA Second Round
2010–11 Pittsburgh 28–6 15–3 1st NCAA Third Round
2011–12 Pittsburgh 22–17 5–13 T–13th CBI Champions
2012–13 Pittsburgh 24–9 12–6 4th NCAA Second Round
Pittsburgh Panthers (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2013–present)
2013–14 Pittsburgh 26–10 11–7 5th NCAA Third Round
2014–15 Pittsburgh 19–15 8–10 T–9th NIT First Round
Pittsburgh: 307–111 (.734) 134–74 (.644)
Total: 307–111 (.734)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

As of the end of the 2014–15 season, Dixon has won 12 NCAA Tournament games.

See also

Jamie Dixon, in Madison Square Garden, along with his sister Julie and their parents, accepting a check from the Garden donated to the Maggie Dixon Fund during the Maggie Dixon Classic.

References

General

Citations

  1. 1.0 1.1 Fittipaldo, Ray (2009-11-17). "Pitt's Dixon named USA basketball national coach of the year". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA). Retrieved 2009-11-17.
  2. "1987 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
  3. "A New Zealand Homecoming Of Sorts". 2009-06-24. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Hotchkiss, Greg, ed. (2009). 2009-10 Pitt Men's Basketball Media Guide (PDF). Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Athletic Media Relations Office. pp. 69–74. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
  5. Fittipaldo, Ray (2007-02-22). "Pitt's Dixon joins elite club in big hurry". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA). Retrieved 2009-11-17.
  6. "Dixon honored after 31-win season". Associated Press. 2009-04-07. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
  7. "Dixon Named Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year" (Press release). Atlanta, Georgia: Atlanta Tipoff Club. 2009-04-07. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
  8. Fittipaldo, Ray (2010-04-03). "Pitt's Dixon wins national coach of the year award". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA). Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  9. Sanserino, Michael (2010-04-01). "Pitt's Dixon get's two-year extension". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA). Retrieved 2010-04-01.
  10. Katz, Andy (2010-10-25). "Jamie Dixon talks about accident". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2010-10-25.
  11. Fittipaldo, Ray (2010-10-25). "Pitt coach Dixon details how he helped with crash rescue". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA). Retrieved 2010-10-25.
  12. "Dixon Ties NCAA Division I Record for Fastest to 200 Career Wins". PittsburghPanthers.com. 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
  13. "Sporting News names Dixon national coach of the year". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. 2011-03-23. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  14. Bennett, Brian (November 30, 2010). "Five more thoughts on the TCU move". Big East Blog. ESPN.com. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
  15. 15.0 15.1 Gorman, Kevin (March 23, 2013). "Pitt’s Dixon signs new 10-year deal through 2022-23". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  16. "USA tops Greece to win gold mdeal in Under-19 world championships". CNN Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. 2009-07-12. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  17. Katz, Andy (2009-07-13). "U.S. U-19 team captures first gold since 1991". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  18. "Jamie Dixon Bio". PittsburghPanthers.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2009-07-15.

External links