Dixons both gain berths in tourneys

Pitt coach Jamie is in for the third time, while sister Maggie is in with Army.
By NANCY ARMOUR
ASSOCIATED PRESS
This year's NCAA tournament is a family affair for the Dixons.
Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon is taking his Panthers to the men's tournament for a third straight year. Not to be outdone, little sister Maggie led Army to its first bid in the women's field, six months after getting her first head coaching job.
The Dixons are believed to be the first brother and sister to coach in the Division I tournament in the same year.
Though there are 12 years between Jamie and Maggie, the oldest and youngest of the three Dixon kids, the two have always been close. There was never any sibling rivalry, and because of their age difference, they never went through that period of fighting and squabbling most brothers and sisters do.
Cut by WNBA
Maggie had hoped to play in the WNBA after graduating from the University of San Diego. When the Los Angeles Sparks cut her after a tryout in May 2000, she was devastated.
Naturally, one of the first people she called was her big brother.
"I remember that very vividly," Jamie Dixon said. "Not being there at the time and knowing -- I've been there before. I was cut by the NBA so I know the feeling. It was tough, but the next day she really showed me what she was about."
Maggie Dixon had thought about coaching, and even sent out a few resumes. But the talk with her brother accelerated the process.
"He said, 'If you want to do this coaching thing, do something drastic,' " she recalled. "That's what I did."
First stop DePaul
A friend was moving to Chicago, and Maggie offered to drive with her. When she got to Chicago, she dropped in on DePaul coach Doug Bruno and asked if he'd hire her. Though he didn't know her, Bruno offered her a job working one of his camps.
A few weeks later, he hired her as a graduate assistant. Dixon was promoted to full-time assistant the next May, and Bruno's recruiting coordinator a year after that. In May 2004, Bruno made her his top assistant.
"I went from walking off the street to being a recruiting coordinator in two years," Dixon said. "Jamie and I always joked that I was going to be a head coach before he was."
That, of course, didn't happen. When Ben Howland left Pitt for UCLA after the 2003 season, Dixon took over. The Panthers went a school-record 31-5 in his first season, and reached the regional semifinals for a third straight year.
He's 75-21 in three seasons, with NCAA appearances each year. The Panthers (24-7) are the fifth seed in the Oakland Regional this year, and open the tournament against Kent State Friday night in Auburn Hills, Mich.
When Army found itself without a coach last October, two weeks before practice began, the Black Knights called Maggie Dixon.
Led Army to title
After scuffling through the first half of the season at .500, Army won nine of its last 11 regular season games. It then beat Lafayette and Colgate to reach the Patriot League finals, where the Black Knights (20-10) earned their first trip to the NCAA tournament with a 69-68 victory over Holy Cross.
Army, the 15th seed in the Cleveland Regional, plays perennial powerhouse Tennessee Sunday in Norfolk, Va.
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