In a move that shook up both the ACC and Big 12 coaching ranks, Jamie Dixon departed Pitt on Monday afternoon to fill the TCU head coaching vacancy, one of the first major shake ups in the high-major coaching circles this year.
Dixon, an alumnus of TCU, spent 12 seasons at Pitt, winning two conference titles in the Big East but failing to bring the Panthers to a Final Four. He did make one Elite Eight and two other Sweet 16 appearances, but all came when Pitt was still in the Big East Conference.
The TCU head coaching vacancy has been seen as one of the more intriguing openings in the country with their proximity to the fertile recruiting grounds of Dallas and even Houston. Bringing in Dixon, who has had success bringing JUCO and prep prospects from the west out to Pitt, looks like a major power play to both get name recognition and local recruiting ability back into the program.
Two seasons ago, TCU seemed to have taken the next step under Trent Johnson, becoming the competitive, scrappy squad that many expected—while still going through the growing pains that improving teams do. However, they failed to gain any real traction from there, once again wallowing in the cellar of the Big 12.
Dixon is the second new coaching joining the Big 12 next season, with Brad Underwood leaving Stephen F. Austin for Oklahoma State.
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