Only raise in Dixon's TCU contract extension comes in team's expectations

Jamie Dixon, who after signing a 10-year contract extension in March of '13 said he intended to finish his career at the University of Pittsburgh, all but finalized a deal to do just that — at TCU.

Of course, given the toilet paper rigidity of contracts in college athletics these days, Dixon could finish his career after coaching 10 more teams. For right now, however, TCU’s basketball coach should end his coaching career where he started it as a player.

In the first major move made by TCU director of athletics Jeremiah Donati since replacing Chris Del Conte, the school has agreed to a two-year extension for Dixon.

Dixon, 52, now has an agreement that will run through the 2023-24 season.

"When I was at Pitt, I always intended to be the guy that stayed. It was a challenge because so few had done it at one place," Dixon said Wednesday. "In this day and age, it is hard to do. I would very much like this to be it. Now, you have to do the right things but, yes, this is where I would like to finish."

Donati approached Dixon about the extension, which does not include a raise. The two sides went back and forth for about 10 days before finalizing the extension on Wednesday.

"I have been so impressed with the growth of the program and we wanted to send a message to the community and the recruits that we are committed at winning at this level," Donati said. "Making the tournament is great, but we have aspirations to take the program higher. We wanted to show him he's that guy."

Donati said some improvements to the team's locker room and players' lounge will likely be addressed this off-season, too.

Hiring Dixon was a coup for TCU, and Del Conte. Now the only question is how far the former TCU point guard can take his alma mater and if he can exceed the standards he set during his tenure at Pitt.

The only reason Pitt did not fight TCU too hard on his contract buyout in March of 2016 was because the school and its fan base had grown spoiled at regular-season success, and frustrated with the lack of extended NCAA runs.

His teams won the Big East regular season title. They won the Big East tournament title. They earned a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers reached the Sweet 16. They reached an Elite Eight. They just never went further.

"I want a national championship," Dixon said. "Do I need a Final Four? I don't know if I need it. I want it, sure. I don't know if I think about it in those terms. I don't sit and analyze myself. I guess I'm not that guy but I do know people do find what you didn't do, and that's fine. That's part of this."

The standard he inherited at TCU in 2016 was so low he could have cleared it by tripping down a flight of stairs. After two seasons, he has established a new set of expectations; namely, TCU is a tourney team.

The team won the NIT in his first year. This season the Frogs were 21-12 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 20 years.

They were a sixth seed in the NCAA Tournament, and lost by five points to Syracuse in the second round (FYI – because the NCAA tournament expanded the field from 64 to 68 teams, the first round is now technically the four “play-in games").

The Frogs finished .500 in the Big 12 for the first time, and were a threat in virtually every game they played against quality competition.

Since he left, the program fell apart; it recently fired the man who replaced him.

"It's funny - expectations are used as a bad word sometimes but it's my job to raise expectations, and to create unrealistic expectations," he said. "I thought we could get to the [NCAA Tournament] in my first year and everyone thought I was crazy, but that was my belief."

From the facilities to the staff, the program is in a position for a prolonged run of success, and to contribute to the brand of the TCU athletic department, and the university, in a way that it never had previously.

Will TCU be the next Duke, Kentucky, Kansas or Villanova? Uhhh ... no. That's going to cost more money (note to coaches and administrators - avoid FBI wiretaps if possible).

Dixon has had brought in highly-ranked recruits, and he has something tangible to sell to players, and fans. TCU basketball has earned this momentum with a head coach who might actually finish his career here.

This story was originally published April 18, 2018 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Only raise in Dixon's TCU contract extension comes in team's expectations."