Big 12 Basketball: Ranking the 10 head coaches for 2019-20 season
By Joey Loose
5. Jamie Dixon (TCU)
TCU had some glory days in the Southwest Conference, but things have been pretty dire for the Horned Frogs for the last few decades. Whether it was the WAC, the Mountain West or the Big 12, they struggled to contend. Buried in the Big 12, the hiring of Dixon, a Horned Frog alum, has done wonders to turn this program around.
After playing at TCU and a brief pro playing career, Dixon’s coaching career began at the junior college level. He eventually worked with Ben Howland at UC Santa Barbara and Northern Arizona. He’d follow Howland to Pittsburgh in 1999 and succeed him as head coach four years later. Dixon spent 13 years leading the Panthers and did a fantastic job of keeping this program near the top of the Big East and transitioning to the ACC. There was an Elite Eight run, a CBI title, and eleven NCAA Tournaments along the way.
TCU brought him home in 2016 and the results have been immediate. In his first season, TCU won the NIT championship, while their 24 wins was the most in nearly two decades. The next season, he got the Horned Frogs to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 20 years. He’s won more than 20 games in all three seasons, something that seemed impossible for this program just a few years earlier.
Dixon won a lot of games at Pittsburgh and has created a winning culture at TCU. That being said, this upcoming season could be a struggle for a Horned Frogs team that lacks depth at a few positions. Regardless, Dixon’s work has put this program in a much better position than predecessors like Trent Johnson and Jim Christian, and they should continue to be in the conversation as long as Dixon stays around.