New TCU basketball coach Dixon pledges to win right away

Jamie Dixon returned to TCU on Tuesday with hopes of resurrecting a basketball program that hasn’t won an NCAA tournament game since he was a player there in 1987.

“We are here to win,” Dixon said during his introductory press conference at Schollmaier Arena. “We are here to win right now. And we are here to win the right way.”

Dixon, a 2007 TCU Hall of Fame Inductee, was the school’s No. 1 candidate, according to TCU donor Ed Schollmaier. If they hadn’t been able to land him, “We’d have had to scramble,” Schollmaier said.

Athletic director Chris Del Conte said: “Today is a day we’ve been dreaming of for a long time. I feel like we’ve assembled the best coaching staff in the country.”

Dixon, who won 328 games in 13 seasons at Pittsburgh, said he was impressed by TCU administrators. “I trust them. I see what they’ve done. I know what TCU was, and I know what it’s become.”

Dixon becomes the 22nd coach in school history. He replaces Trent Johnson, who was fired last week after four seasons. Dixon said Johnson left toughness and physicality in the team.

“I like the players that are here,” he said. “I like what they have... I expect to win. I told them last night, this is no rebuilding project.”

Follow coverage of the press conference from beat writer Carlos Mendez:

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 1:39 PM with the headline "New TCU basketball coach Dixon pledges to win right away."