TCU’s Dixon weighs in: ‘Realignment has always been a part of college athletics’
TCU basketball coach Jamie Dixon has been through realignments before. The most notable happened when he was Pittsburgh’s coach and it moved from the Big East to the ACC in the summer of 2013.
So he’s not too surprised that the latest round of realignment has arrived. Texas and Oklahoma have announced intentions to join the SEC in the summer of 2025, at the latest. That has thrown the remaining eight Big 12 schools, including TCU, into uncharted territory.
“Maybe the timing is a little surprising, but it always feels like something is imminent,” Dixon said. “If there wasn’t realignment, I’d be nervous.”
At the end of the day, Dixon has confidence in TCU’s administration to navigate the university through realignment. This is a university that has changed conferences multiple times in the last two decades.
“I have great confidence,” he said.
From a basketball perspective, Dixon believes the Big 12 will remain arguably the top league in the country for the short term. UT and OU have both stated plans to play out the remaining grant-of-rights contract through the 2024-25 year.
“We do know our basketball league will continue to be the best in the country in the short term,” Dixon said. “And any movement leads to probably a similar situation but that’s a ways away. Realignment has always been a part of college athletics.”
As far as Dixon’s history, there wasn’t much change during Pitt’s transition. The Panthers went 24-9 and were an NCAA Tournament team in their final year in the Big East; they went 26-10 and were an NCAA Tournament team in their first year of the ACC.
Dixon expects a similar transition for TCU.
“I know however this plays out, we’ll be in one of the best basketball conferences in the country,” he said. “There’s no doubt in my mind about that. We’ll be playing good people.”
