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Jan. 7, 2009

BOSTON (MA) -- Pittsburgh’s 14-0 start has earned head coach Jamie Dixon the Jim Phelan Award mid-season coaching honors.

“Jamie is a very deserving winner,” says Jim Phelan. “He has done a great job since taking over for Ben Howland. Every season his teams have been among the best in the Big East and this season is no exception. The Panthers are a confident, strong and well-coached team.”

Pittsburgh’s perfect start includes road wins at Texas Tech, Washington State, Florida State, Rutgers (Big East opener) and Georgetown. The win at Georgetown ended the Hoyas 29-game homecourt winning streak and propelled Pittsburgh to its’ first-ever No. 1 ranking.

Dixon is now in his sixth season at the helm in Pittsburgh. He became the first head coach in school history to guide Pittsburgh to five consecutive 20-win seasons, five straight 10-plus win Big East regular seasons and five straight NCAA Tournaments. Dixon has also guided Pitt to two NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances (2004 and 2007) and his 132 career victories rank as the third most wins after five seasons as a head coach in the history of NCAA Division I college basketball.

Minnesota’s Tubby Smith finished second in the voting. Rounding out the top five are Oliver Purnell (Clemson), Dino Gaudio (Wake Forest) and Jeff Capel (Oklahoma).

Named after the legendary Mount St. Mary’s head coach Jim Phelan who won over 800 games and coached in more games then any the history of college basketball, the award is presented annually by CollegeInsider.com to the top coach in America. Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan was the recipient of the award last season, which was presented at the Final Four in San Antonio. This season’s winner will be announced at the Final Four in Detroit.