Jamie Dixon saddened to hear of his friend and mentor’s death

Saturday, 01 December 2012 21:13

Written by Ray Fittipaldo

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon was watching the Pitt-South Florida football game while waiting to speak with reporters following Pitt’s 74-61 victory over Detroit Saturday night. It was then that Dixon first learned of the death of Rick Majerus on the ESPN breaking news ticker.

News spread during the game on Twitter that Majerus had died, but word did not get to Dixon. He was emotional in his opening remarks about the passing of his friend and mentor.

“I just saw on the ticker about coach Majerus and that’s the first I heard about it,” Dixon said. “I don’t know what else to say, but I think everyone knows how much he’s meant to Ben [Howland] and I in coaching. That’s a tough one. I knew he wasn’t doing well, but it was tough to hear.”

Majerus stepped down from his head coaching position at St. Louis before the season with heart problems. He also was the head coach at Utah and led the Utes to the 1998 NCAA title game.

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