Following historic basketball season, TCU reaches contract extension with Jamie Dixon
TCU has agreed to a three-year contract extension with men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon that will take him through the 2027-28 season, athletic director Jeremiah Donati announced on Friday.
“Coach Dixon has done an unbelievable job building our men’s basketball program in his six seasons at TCU,” Donati said. “He and his staff have developed young men in our program who represent TCU so well on and off the court. They have established a basketball culture on campus that makes everyone proud.
“I know I speak for our entire fan base and community when I say that we could not be more excited about the future and the trajectory we are on.”
Dixon issued a statement, too, thanking Donati and TCU chancellor Victor Boschini for their commitment to the basketball program.
“Our program has improved greatly under their outstanding leadership,” Dixon said. “I’m excited to build on what we accomplished this past year and eager to get back in the gym to prepare for next season.”
Dixon will receive a salary bump from his current $3.4 million annual figure, sources said, but terms have not been disclosed. Whatever the exact number, Dixon will remain among the highest-paid coaches in the country.
Dixon, 56, just completed his sixth season with the Frogs, leading them to their first NCAA Tournament victory in 35 years.
TCU, as the 9-seed in the South Region, crushed 8-seed Seton Hall in the first round. TCU then had 1-seed Arizona on the ropes before the Frogs lost in overtime in the Round of 32.
That ended a historic season for TCU. The Frogs won a program-record five games against ranked teams, including the school’s biggest ranked road victory (at then-No. 15 Iowa State on Jan. 22). They also had record crowds attend games at Schollmaier Arena.
Dixon has a career record of 445-207 in 13 years as Pitt’s head coach and six seasons at TCU. With the Frogs, Dixon has gone 117-84.
Dixon ranks fourth all-time on TCU’s coaching wins list, trailing Buster Brannon (204), Billy Tubbs (155) and Jim Killingsworth (130).
Dixon, Brannon and Johnny Swaim are the only coaches in program history to lead the Frogs to multiple NCAA Tournaments. Brannon took the Frogs to three tournaments (1952, 1953, 1959), while Swaim (1968, 1971) and Dixon (2018, 2022) both have two appearances. Killingsworth (1987) and Tubbs (1998) were the other coaches to lead the program to March Madness berths.
Dixon played for Killingsworth from 1984-87, leading TCU to Southwest Conference titles as a junior and a senior. He was a player on the last team that won an NCAA Tournament game until this season, helping 4-seed TCU defeat 13-seed Marshall 76-60 in the 1987 tournament. Dixon was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2007.
Dixon returned to his alma mater as the program’s 22nd head coach on March 22, 2016, on a six-year contract. He was awarded an extension following the 2017-18 season when the Frogs snapped what had been a 20-year NCAA Tournament drought.
The Frogs had a case to make the 2019 NCAA Tournament, too, but were among the top “snubs” that year. They returned this season following two disappointing seasons. TCU went 16-16 in 2019-20, and then Dixon posted the first losing season of his career, going 12-14 in 2020-21.
But Dixon and his staff have TCU headed in the right direction once again. The Frogs are expected to return a substantial part of its roster next season, although leading scorer Mike Miles declared for the 2022 NBA Draft earlier this week.
Outside of TCU, Dixon has made a name for himself by coaching USA Basketball’s U19 team twice in his career. He led Team USA to a gold medal in 2009 and once again in 2021. Dixon went undefeated in both trips, giving him a career record of 16-0 in international competition.
This story was originally published April 1, 2022 at 10:00 AM.
