(Story courtesy of Texas Lutheran University Athletics)
SEGUIN, TX -- Mel Dixon, who led Texas Lutheran University to four Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances - the first two in school history, is retiring after 47 seasons and 736 wins as a head basketball coach at the high school and college level.
The two-time SCAC Coach of the Year concluded his ninth season as the Bulldogs head coach in March. In addition to SCAC Tournament Championships in 2014 and 2019, he led the Bulldogs to two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2014 and 2019, and two regular season championships in 2014 and 2015.
Quotes on the retirement of coach Mel Dixon:
Texas Lutheran Athletic Director Bill Miller
"Coach Mel Dixon is a tremendous coach. Under his leadership, the TLU Women's Basketball Program jumped to a new level of competitiveness. His tenure as head coach of the women's basketball program was not only marked by winning championships, but more importantly by the care and concern that he displayed for the young women who he coached. Coach Dixon made a difference in the TLU Women's Basketball Program and in the lives of many of the young women he coached, and in so doing he became the winningest women's basketball coach in TLU history. We wish him all of the best in his retirement."
Texas Lutheran Women's Basketball Assistant Coach Troy Patterson (4 years under Dixon)
"Congratulations Coach Dixon on a truly remarkable career! It has been an honor to be afforded the opportunity to work alongside a coach that has been able to consistently achieve success over such a great period of time. It is my hope that as you reflect on your coaching/teaching career that you can truly understand the impact you have made on so many lives. I wish nothing but the very best as you move into this next chapter of your life. I am grateful and blessed to call you friend, colleague and mentor. Thank you for everything coach!"
MEL DIXON'S CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
- 47 seasons as a coach, including 36 seasons as a high school basketball coach (four as head coach at Robert E. Lee, 26 as head coach at Theodore Roosevelt), two as an assistant at TLU, nine as head coach at Texas Lutheran University.
- Winningest Coach in TLU Women's Basketball History with 127 victories
- 2x SCAC Coach of the Year (2014, 2019)
- Led the Bulldogs to a TLU program record 23 wins in 2014, most all-time by men's or women's Texas Lutheran basketball programs
- 2 NCAA Tournament Appearances (Most in program history)
- Coached 2 All-Americans, 2 Defensive Players of the Year, 20+ All-Conference Honorees
- 19 seasons in playoffs
- Led the Bulldogs to first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2014
- Named San Antonio "City Coach of the Year" three-times during tenure as a high school coach
- Coached 2002 Texas State All-Star Game
THE DIXON RECORD
- Overall: 736-424, 45 seasons as head coach (.634)
- Record at TLU: 127-96, nine seasons at TLU (.570); 81-51 record in SCAC (.613)
- NCAA Tournament: (0-2)
- Conference Regular Season Titles (2): 2014, 2015
- Conference Tournament Titles: (2): 2014, 2019
- 609-328 record at the high school level
