Editorial: Jamie Dixon is Pitt basketball

It’s hard to predict what might transpire over the next 10 years at the University of Pittsburgh.

But it got a bit easier Saturday when men’s basketball head coach Jamie Dixon signed a new 10-year contract through 2022-2023.

Despite two seasons of less-than-spectacular basketball and a tenure defined by disappointing March Madness performances, Pitt fans should still greet the news with resounding enthusiasm. After all, the accomplishments over his tenure are really nothing short of remarkable.

Taking reins of a growing, but historically unimpressive basketball program in 2003, Dixon has turned the University of Pittsburgh, a school with no geographic or cultural connection to the sport, into a powerhouse. And while the lights have dimmed over the past few years, the program’s steady resilience can really only be attributed to him.

Given this success, the alternative scenarios to a Dixon contract extension are far less appealing. Running out the clock on his old contract, which was due to expire in 2018, would have only led to further speculation and uncertainty in an athletics department already fraught with coaching troubles on the football side. Dumping Dixon altogether in favor of a new coach to bring fresh blood would eliminate the only thing that has unified the past decade of success.

Further, a 10-year commitment is not unreasonable. Coaches don’t incur career-ending injuries, and there are few cases of coaches suddenly going sour after almost a dozen years of victories.

The 10-year commitment should really be seen as a chance to move Pitt basketball fully into the highest caliber of national basketball programs.

By providing stability, Dixon has the potential to slowly creep toward moving into company with Jim Boeheim at Syracuse or Mike Krzyzewski at Duke. Even these coaches, after all, were once only 10 years into their career before they started making big waves.

And while it isn’t inevitable by any stretch that Dixon will enter this highest echelon of coaching, all the pieces for such success are now in place. And with this potential future now official, the higher stakes for both coach and player might add the extra motivation Pitt basketball needs right now.

Needless to say, Dixon will need to correct some of his biggest flaws as the Panthers move to the ACC. Most importantly, Pitt’s poor tournament play can’t become a legacy of the next 10 years as it has been for the past 10. As the organization’s leader, he will have to be held accountable at some point.

Further, the timing of the announcement, a few days after an embarrassing loss to Wichita State, was just terrible. While the exact details of the decision, including speculation about the University of Southern California targeting Dixon for a head coaching position, are unknown. On the surface at least, it seems like Pitt’s athletic director, Steve Pederson, and the Department of Athletics picked the single worst time possible to make the announcement.

But for now, the stability is something we can all embrace. Unlike the football program, which seems for now mired in a transitional state, Pitt basketball has become the home for the Pitt fan wishing to see a winning sports team. Thousands of students get to experience thrilling play at the highest level because Dixon has produced NCAA tournament-worthy teams in nine of his 10 seasons.

These experiences have been the highlight of many students’ time at Pitt. The chance that he will get to continue this and possibly much more for the next 10 years will only make things better.