Pitt ends Dixon speculation, gives coach lengthy extension

Pitt ended speculation about the future of Jamie Dixon by announcing a 10-year contract extension for the men’s basketball team’s head coach on Saturday afternoon.

The new deal runs through the 2022-2023 season, with Coach Dixon issuing a statement that he intends to “finish his career at the University of Pittsburgh.”

After Dixon’s Panthers exited the NCAA tournament in the round of 64 with a loss to Wichita State on Thursday, rumors circulated that the California native was the front-runner for the vacant head coaching position at the University of South California.

But Dixon and Pitt quickly reached an agreement to end all speculation that the coach might follow former head coach Ben Howland, who left Pitt to take over at the University of California, Los Angeles, out west.

“Pitt and Pittsburgh are home,” Dixon said in the statement. “My family and I feel blessed to be part of such a great institution and wonderful city. It is the people who truly make a place special. I could not be surrounded by better players, staff and administration. These aren’t just people I work for and with every day. They’re friends and I’m very thankful for that.

Dixon became head coach in 2003, and he owns the best winning percentage in school history (.753) after taking Pitt to the NCAA tournament in nine of his 10 seasons.