Baseball hires pitching coach Tim Dixon
09/14/2006 | 12:00:00 | Baseball
Sept. 14, 2006
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Tim Dixon was hired as the new pitching coach of the Southern Illinois University baseball program, head coach Dan Callahan announced today.
"To get back into Division I baseball is something I've wanted from the get-go," said Dixon. "This is an excellent opportunity for me. The people at SIU have been very good to me and I can already tell it's going to be a great experience."
Dixon, a native of San Jose, Calif., comes from a long line of success both as a player and coach.
"We are very excited about the addition of Tim to the Saluki Baseball staff," said Callahan. "We had over 90 applicants for the position and his hiring says a lot about his background and abilities."
Dixon spent the last year as pitching coach at Feather River College in Quincy, Calif. Prior to that, he assumed the same role at Pacific University and Archbishop Mitty High School.
While at Pacific, a member of the Big West Conference, Dixon handled a pitching staff which had three pitchers selected in the Major League Amateur Draft.
At the high school level, he helped lead Archbishop Mitty to back-to-back West Catholic League Championships, as Mitty ranked as high as seventh in the country in 2002.
Before starting his coaching career, Dixon pitched six years professionally, with the Expos, Brewers and Red Sox organizations. He was drafted in the 14th round of the 1995 Amateur Draft out of national college baseball powerhouse Cal State Fullerton.
Dixon and the Titans won the 1995 NCAA Division I National Championship, beating USC, 11-5. Overall, he went 13-0 with a 3.43 ERA and shut out Tennessee, 11-0, in the semi-final game in Omaha that year. To this day, Dixon still holds Fullerton's record for most victories without a loss.
"If you examine Tim's background, he was not only a great college pitcher, but with his six years of professional experience and five years of coaching experience, I think it's safe to say that he can truly preach what he's practiced," added Callahan.
Dixon received his bachelor's degree from National University in 2001. He then began his master's in Sports Science with an emphasis on Sport Psychology at Pacific.
"Our administration did a fantastic job throughout this process," concluded Callahan."There were a number of people involved in Coach Dixon's hiring, and on behalf of Saluki Baseball, I want them all to know how much we appreciate their efforts and dedication to our program."