For the first time in more than a decade, Pitt is looking for a new men’s basketball coach, as Jamie Dixon is leaving the Panthers to be the head coach at TCU, according to reports from ESPN.com and CBSSports.com.
Momentum behind Dixon’s candidacy as TCU’s replacement for Trent Johnson, who was fired last week, grew in the three days since Pitt was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament in a 47-43 loss to Wisconsin Friday night.
Dixon played at TCU in the mid-1980's.
Dixon took over Pitt’s program in 2003 after Ben Howland, who brought Dixon to the Panthers as an assistant coach in 1999. In 13 seasons as head coach, Dixon amassed a record of 328-123, including a 143-82 mark in conference play.
That conference record was split between the Big East and ACC; in 10 seasons as a member of the Big East, Dixon’s Panthers went 115-65 in conference play. In the last three seasons as an ACC team, Pitt was 28-26.
Dixon’s tenure at Pitt was highlighted by 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, two Sweet Sixteens and an Elite Eight. 2008-09 - the year Pitt reached the Elite Eight - was the high-water mark, as the Panthers reached a No. 1 ranking in the polls, earned their first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and won 31 games, tying the 2003-04 season for the most under Dixon.
Since that Elite Eight run, though, Pitt hadn’t won more than one NCAA Tournament game in any of its five subsequent postseason appearances. The last seven years also saw the Panthers miss the Big Dance for the first time under Dixon; that happened twice, with the first ending with the 2012 CBI championship and the second resulting in a one-and-done appearance in the 2015 NIT.
Dixon’s departure means Pitt Athletic Director Scott Barnes will face his first major hiring - and, to some extent, his first opportunity at a signature moment - since starting on the job last July.
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