Pitt coach's sister, Maggie Dixon, dies
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Army women's basketball coach Maggie Dixon, the sister of Pitt men's coach Jamie Dixon, died last night. Ms. Dixon, 28, died at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, N.Y. after being stricken at the home of a friend Wednesday.
According to the Westchester County medical examiner's office, Ms. Dixon died of cardiomegaly with a mitral valve prolapse -- an enlarged heart and a valve that wasn't functioning properly.
A memorial service was held earlier this afternoon at West Point.
"The entire University of Pittsburgh community shares the Dixon family's deep sense of loss," Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg said in a statement.
"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."
Maggie Dixon got into coaching after a failed attempt at making it as a player in the WNBA. She did so at the urging of her older brother, Jamie, one of the bright young coaching stars in the Big East.
Maggie Dixon just completed her first season at Army. She was hired a few weeks before the season began and led the Black Knights to their first NCAA tournament appearance last month.
"Maggie Dixon was truly an inspiring example," Pitt Athletic Director Jeff Long said. "She was bright and driven and always had a kind, welcoming smile. Those qualities helped her achieve so very much at a young age. Maggie embodied what is so great about the coaching profession. She has left a wonderful legacy with the many people and student-athletes she touched."
Maggie Dixon was hospitalized in critical condition after suffering an "arrhythmic episode to her heart" and collapsing Wednesday, said Jamie Dixon.
"She ... went to the house of a friend for afternoon tea where she said she wasn't feeling good and she collapsed," said Dixon, who read a prepared statement from the hospital.
He said he had breakfast with his sister earlier Wednesday and that she had apparently been feeling well.
Jim O'Connell, a spokesman for the Westchester County medical examiner's office, said an autopsy was scheduled for today.
More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press contributed.
First Published April 7, 2006 12:00 am
