The college basketball world lost an up-and-coming star when Maggie Dixon, the first-year Army women's basketball coach and sister of Pitt men's basketball coach Jamie Dixon, died Thursday night at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, N.Y.
According to the preliminary results of an autopsy, performed yesterday by the Westchester County Medical Examiner's Office, the cause of death is an enlarged heart and valve defect. While the coroner's office could not confirm that Dixon experienced an arrhythmatic episode, Dr. Christopher Bonnet of Allegheny General Hospital said the signs strongly support it was the cause of her death.
The autopsy also confirmed that Dixon was in a coma for one day and had experienced brain swelling because of lack of oxygen.
Dixon, 28, who led Army to its first NCAA Tournament last month, had been hospitalized in critical condition after collapsing at a friend's house Wednesday.
Jamie Dixon issued a statement yesterday through the Pitt athletic department, praising his sister for her influence on and off the basketball court.
"Maggie touched so many people beyond basketball," he said. "Our family has received an outpouring of sympathy from across the country, and we are deeply appreciative. As her older brother, I know she looked up to me. But I always looked up to her, too, and it's obvious that a lot of other people did as well.
"We thank everyone for their continued support and prayers."
Maggie Dixon's former college coach at the University of San Diego, Kathy Marpe, remembered her as an outgoing, vibrant person.
Marpe recalled a party at the end of a season, when the San Diego women's basketball team threw a celebration, and Maggie Dixon was the star of the show put on by teammates. She performed a comedy bit about Sonny and Cher.
"She and one of her teammates played the parts, and, of course, she was Cher,'' said Marpe, who coached Maggie Dixon for four seasons at the West Coast Conference school. "Her dad (Jim) was there. He really got a kick out of it.
"That's what that family was all about. They enjoyed one another."
A memorial service was held at the West Point, N.Y., campus, where Army superintendent Lt. Gen. William J. Lennox Jr., said the entire community was heartbroken by her passing.
"From the time Maggie arrived here (from DePaul, where she had served as an assistant), her enthusiastic 'no limits' approach earned her the respect and love of everyone," Lennox said.
Army sophomore guard Cara Enright also praised Maggie Dixon for the way she treated her players, saying it was a key component in the Black Knights' first 20-win season in 15 years.
"I just loved the energy that coach brought to practice every day and the way she never gave up on us, always believed in us," Enright said. "She made us love the game even more, and we played our hearts out every single time we stepped on the court."
"It's a tragedy. It really is," said Maggie Dixon's assistant, Dave Magarity, the former Marist men's coach. "We've just got to get through this next week, get through the funeral in California.''
Funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized, but Maggie Dixon's team will make the cross-country trip to Los Angeles.
Maggie Dixon, a native of North Hollywood, Calif., led Army to a 20-11 record that included a its first Patriot League title. The Black Knights were beaten by No. 6 Tennessee, 102-54, in the first round of the women's NCAA Tournament.
The accomplishment gained extra attention because her brother, Jamie, also led Pitt to the men's NCAA Tournament. The siblings were believed to be the first brother-sister duo to coach in an NCAA Tournament in the same year.
The mood at Pitt also was somber the past few days. Athletic director Jeff Long said Maggie Dixon "embodied what is so great about the coaching profession (and) left a wonderful legacy with the many people and student-athletes she touched."
Chancellor Mark Nordenberg replicated Long's sentiments.
"The entire University of Pittsburgh community shares the Dixon family's deep sense of loss," Nordenberg said. "We applauded Maggie Dixon's successes when she was an assistant coach at DePaul. We shared in the joy of her magical season at Army. And we now mourn her passing.
"Maggie was not only an exceptional basketball coach. She was a warm, energetic, upbeat person. And she will be sorely missed."
Additional Information:
Maggie Dixon notables
