Jamie Dixon wants more for TCU basketball — and that costs money
Sunday was a celebration for most people associated with TCU men’s basketball, as the Horned Frogs reached the NCAA Tournament for fourth time in five seasons.
The Horned Frogs (22-11) got a No. 9 seed in the East region and will face No. 8 seed Ohio State (21-12) in the first round at 11:15 a.m. Thursday in Greenville, South Carolina, on CBS.
This continues to be the best stretch in program history and is further confirmation of how good of a job coach Jamie Dixon has done at his alma mater. The Horned Frogs have remained competitive even in the name, image and likeness era — and now the revenue-sharing era.
TCU has been able to compete in the toughest conference in America despite being one of the smallest programs in the Power Four. For many it would be a cause for celebration, but as Dixon reflected on the recent success, he had one question he wanted to ask the fan base and administration.
“We’ve got to figure out how we can do more,” Dixon said. “Do we always want to be the team punching above our weight [class], or do it the other way?”
It’s a question that comes from Dixon’s desire to continue to elevate TCU and his belief that the program has yet to hit its ceiling despite how far the program has come since he took over in 2016.
TCU had little NCAA Tournament success before Jamie Dixon
Before Dixon arrived, TCU’s last NCAA Tournament appearance was in 1998, and the previous trip before that was in 1987. Dixon has taken a program from earning one tournament bid per decade to now one with the expectation of reaching March Madness every season.
But Dixon doesn’t just want to make the tournament. He wants the Horned Frogs to be capable of making deep runs, and the reality is, to have that type of success takes investment and a desire to be great.
“We gotta do things better. It’s not where we want to be. But we’re battling,” Dixon said. “The rules have changed. It’s become a different thing. Resources matter and they always have, but it’s a new game. The reality is you can be as good as you want to be.”
Two big examples of that are Kentucky and BYU. The Wildcats have always been one of the biggest spenders in college basketball and reportedly paid about $22 million for their current roster. Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg came out earlier this week and said he was offered more than $7 million by the Wildcats.
BYU, on the other hand, has always been a solid basketball program, but since the Cougars’ arrival in the Big 12, there’s a clear commitment to spend to get to the top of the standings. BYU reportedly spent $3 million to $3.5 million on Baylor transfer point guard Rob Wright and an estimated $6 million to 7 million on star freshman AJ Dybantsa.
That would be roughly $10 million for two players, which is about twice as much as TCU spent on its whole roster, sources have said.
Now just imagine what Arizona, Houston, Kansas and even Baylor are spending to build their rosters.
TCU finding under-the-radar recruits
It’s a disadvantage that Dixon and his staff have been able to work around with their player development and ability to find gems that might slip under other teams’ radar like junior college transfer Xavier Edmonds and former Utah Valley guard Tanner Toolson.
“You have to scrape and claw for some [players], but I’ve been doing that my whole life,” Dixon said. “So, you know, I guess you got the right guy. ... You scrape and claw and try to find little inefficiencies in the market and try to find [guys]. We’ve been pretty good at that.
“So that’s what you gotta do, and I say this, but I don’t see these things as a negative.”
It’s a challenge, but one that continues to bring the best out of Dixon as a coach and a developer of talent. Edmonds was the No. 1-ranked junior college player, but nobody would have expected he would become a third-team All-Big 12 selection in his first season in Fort Worth.
Toolson was a starter at Utah Valley, but has also exceeded expectations as a reliable contributor off the bench. There are countless stories of players like Toolson making the jump to the Power Four only to see their ability to impact winning diminish against better talent.
Sophomore forward Micah Robinson has taken a leap, along with honorable mention All-Big 12 forward David Punch.
There have been some bumps along the way, mainly the season-opening loss to New Orleans, but there’s no doubt Dixon has gotten the most out of this roster.
With guard Jayden Pierre being the only senior, TCU could be primed to have another good team next year if the Horned Frogs are able to keep Punch, Robinson and Edmonds in the fold. It’ll be costly to retain each one, which is just the new way of life in the transfer portal era.
A deep tournament run starting with a win over Ohio State and maybe even Duke, would be the exact type of shot in the arm that could bring in the investment Dixon desires. Just being in the tournament will bring plenty of eyes and attention to TCU that could help with recruiting.
“I read 100 million brackets will be made, so 100 million people are deciding if I’m gonna pick TCU or Ohio State,” Dixon said.
Four tournament appearances in five years is a milestone that should be celebrated, but for Dixon, it feels like making the tournament is just the baseline of what his expectations are for the program.
He’s not satisfied with just getting in the field, but it’ll take more than good coaching and scouting to elevate the Horned Frogs into the next tier of college basketball. He’ll need more financial resources.
Dixon is ready to do the work. Is the rest of Fort Worth?
This story was originally published March 17, 2026 at 12:58 PM.
