Pitt Head Coach Jamie Dixon was named the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year… Pitt Head Coach Jamie Dixon was named the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year yesterday..

The award is presented annually by Collegeinsider.com to the nation’s top coach. Dixon one was on many finalists, and he beat out a field that included Kentucky’s John Calipari, Cornell’s Steve Donohue, Northern Iowa’s Ben Jacobson, Butler’s Brad Stevens and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim (who was named Big East Coach of the Year just last month).

Dixon recently completed his seventh season as head coach, and despite losing four starters from last year’s Elite Eight team – including two players who left for the NBA, DeJuan Blair and Sam Young – Dixon led Pitt to its ninth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

Pitt was unranked at the beginning of the season and was picked to finish ninth in the Big East. The Panthers finished tied for second place in the conference and ranked No. 16 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The team earned a No. 3 seed in the West Region of the Tournament and defeated Oakland before falling to Xavier in the second round.

Dixon currently has 188 wins as a head coach, which ties the Division I record for most wins after seven seasons of coaching.