Jamie Dixon Honored as National Coach of the Year By Sporting News

Issue Date: 
March 28, 2011
Coach Jaime Dixon and Travon Woodall during a Big East gameCoach Jaime Dixon and Travon Woodall during a Big East game

University of Pittsburgh Head Men’s Basketball Coach Jamie Dixon has been named Sporting News’ 2010-11 National Coach of the Year, one of college basketball’s highest honors.

The 2010-11 season marks the third consecutive season—and fourth time—that Dixon has garnered a National Coach of the Year award. The other honors were the 2010 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year, 2010 USA Basketball National Coach of the Year, and 2009 Naismith National Coach of the Year awards.

Dixon is only the second head men’s basketball coach at Pitt to garner Sporting News’ National Coach of the Year award. Former Pitt Head Men’s Basketball Coach Ben Howland received it for the team’s 2001-02 season.

Dixon guided his 2010-11 Pitt team to a Big East regular season championship with a school-best 15-3 league record, a 28-6 overall record, and the program’s second

No. 1 seed in the NCAA Championship. Dixon also set the NCAA Division I record for most wins after eight seasons as a head men’s basketball coach.

In his eight-year career as Pitt’s head men’s basketball coach, Dixon has:

• Amassed a 216-60 career record and .783 winning percentage;

• Guided Pitt to three Big East championships (2003-04 regular season, 2007-08 tournament, and 2010-11 regular season);

• Led Pitt to two 30-win seasons (31 in both 2003-04 and 2008-09) and eight consecutive 20-win overall and 10-win Big East seasons;

• Directed the Panthers to one NCAA Elite Eight (2009) and three NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances (2004, 2007, and 2009) and is the only coach in school history to guide Pitt to eight straight NCAA Tournament berths (as of 2011); and

• Propelled Pitt to its first-ever No. 1 national ranking (2009) and two No. 1 seeds upon entering the NCAA Tournament (2009 and 2011).

In addition, Dixon concluded the 2010-11 season as the winningest men’s basketball coach in Big East history with a current .708 winning percentage in league games (109-45). Following Dixon on that list are such legendary names as Georgetown’s John Thompson (.653), Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim (.643), Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun (.641), and St. John’s Lou Carnesseca (.635). His .783 overall winning percentage also rates third among active winningest men’s basketball coaches at the NCAA Division I level.