Atlanta, GA -- (Sports Network) - Pittsburgh basketball coach Jamie Dixon has been named the 2009 Naismith men's coach of the year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Tuesday.
Dixon guided Pittsburgh to a 31-5 record this past season, with a 15-3 mark in the Big East. The Panthers went 19-0 at home, achieved the No. 1 ranking in the nation at one point and earned a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament. Pitt advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tourney before losing to Villanova on Scottie Reynolds' basket with 0.5 seconds left.
"Pittsburgh had a tremendous season and much of that success goes to Jamie and the wonderful coaching job he did with this team," said Gary Stokan, Atlanta Tipoff Club president. "During his six seasons he has built a solid program that continues to produce wonderful results, both on and off the court."
Dixon's teams have gone 163-45 in his six seasons as Pitt head coach, which puts him third on the school's all-time coaching wins list.
Other finalists for the award were Oklahoma's Jeff Capel, LSU's Trent Johnson and Kansas' Bill Self. The award was chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's board of selectors, a collection of basketball journalists, coaches and administrators.
Connecticut's Geno Auriemma won the Naismith Award as the women's coach of the year and the Huskies wrapped up the season Tuesday night with a 76-54 win over Louisville in the national title game.
Auriemma's team finished the season 39-0. It was the sixth Naismith honor for Auriemma, who has led the Huskies to six championships. He beat out Oklahoma's Sherri Coale, Auburn's Nell Fortner and South Dakota State's Aaron Johnston for the honor.
