Women's Basketball Southern Conference

Sam Dixon Named Furman Women's Basketball Coach

GREENVILLE, South Carolina -- Furman University Director of Athletics Gary
Clark announced the hiring of Dr. Sam Dixon as head coach of the Furman
women's basketball team in an 11:00 a.m. press conference today at Timmons
Arena.

Dixon, who has spent the last three years as associate head coach under Jim
Davis at Clemson, succeeds Sherry Carter, who resigned following 20 years
at the helm of the Lady Paladin program. Dixon is the eighth head coach in
the 32-year tenure of the Furman women's basketball program.

"Sam was extremely articulate in presenting his vision for the Furman Lady
Paladins," said Clark. "He made it clear that he understood the team's
past and present, while setting out concrete plans for the steps he would
take to move this program forward. He was very impressive in his
understanding of this university and, in particular, our overall athletic
program."

A 1979 physical education graduate of the College of Wooster, Dixon played
four years for the Fighting Scots and in 1978 helped the team reach the
NCAA Division III South Regional finals. As a student-athlete he earned
first-team All-Ohio Athletic Conference accolades in 1979, and was the team
Most Valuable Player. A 1989 inductee into the Wooster College Hall of
Fame, Dixon was also named All-Great Lakes Region and earned third team
All-America status.

Immediately after his graduation from Wooster, Dixon spent a season at
Eastern Michigan University, where he earned a master's degree in physical
education while serving as a graduate assistant with the men's basketball
program. He completed his formal education from 1995-97, when he earned a
doctoral degree in physical education while working as a teaching assistant
at the University of New Mexico.

It was Dixon's academic background that fueled his interest in Furman's
coaching position. "I think Furman is an ideal fit for me because of my
background," said Dixon. " I not only have my Ph.D., but I earned my
undergraduate degree from a liberal arts school, have coached at two
liberal arts universities, and I think it is an outstanding way to become
educated. In addition, Furman is in an area where I am familiar with
recruiting, so the combination seems ideal."

In the years between his bachelor's degree in '79 and his doctoral degree
in '97, Dixon was never far from the sport of basketball. He spent four
years (1980-84) as the assistant men's coach at Northern Kentucky, one year
(1984-85) as a men's assistant at Kent State, two years as assistant men's
coach at Davidson (1985-87), and four years (1987-91) as head men's
basketball and golf coach at Denison University. Following his tenure at
Denison, Dixon was an assistant with the men's program at Northern Illinois
for four seasons (1991-95), and in 1997-98, immediately following his
doctoral work, was the boys' basketball coach at Harrison High in Kennesaw,
Ga. His first experience coaching women came in 1998-99, when he was an
assistant in the University of Arizona's program. From there he was hired
by Davis at Clemson, and in three years helped the Lady Tigers to a 57-34
overall record, 28-20 conference mark, and three consecutive NCAA
Tournament appearances.

Dixon's success at Clemson mirrored much of his career. During his time at
Davidson, the Wildcats of 1985-86 posted a 20-11 overall mark and won the
Southern Conference crown and a berth in the NCAA Tournament, while Kent
State received an NIT berth during his time there. In fact during his
career, Dixon's men's teams have advanced to an NCAA Tournament and made an
NIT appearance. In his four years coaching women's teams, all four teams
have earned berths in the NCAA Tournament, including the 1998-99 Arizona
Wildcats, who posted an 18-11 record with a 12-6 mark in the PAC-10.

Dixon's first official day on the job at Furman will be Monday, April 22.
"My number one priority is to get to know the players and to let the
players get to know me," Dixon said. "All the players need to feel
comfortable with me before we can move forward, and that includes the
players who have signed or made verbal commitments to the Furman program."


The Sam Dixon File

Playing Experience
High School: Bishop Watterson High School
College: College of Wooster

Education
Bachelor's of Arts in Physical Education, Wooster, 1979
Master's in Physical Education, Eastern Michigan, 1980
Doctoral in Physical Education, New Mexico, 1997

Coaching Experience
1979-80 Graduate Assistant Men's Coach at Eastern Michigan
1980-84 Assistant Men's Coach at Northern Kentucky
1974-85 Assistant Men's Coach at Kent State
1985-87 Assistant Men's Coach at Davidson
1987-91 Head Men's Basketball and Golf Coach at Denison College
1991-95 Assistant Men's Coach at Northern Illinois
1995-97 Teaching Assistant and Volunteer Assistant Men's Coach at
New Mexico
1997-98 Assistant Boys' Basketball Coach at Harrison High (Kennesaw,
Ga.)
1998-99 Assistant Women's Coach at Arizona
1999-02 Associate Head Coach at Clemson