Six hundred wins later, Hixon again stepped out onto the court last night against Westfield as the seventh most victorious active Division III coach, the ninth coach in his division to ever reach the 600-win mark and the winningest coach in College history.
Growing up playing basketball under his father’s tutelage, Hixon followed his father’s footsteps in becoming a coach, a career that has brought the two of them closer together.
“The combination of education and athletics has always been a big thing in my family. My dad was my high school coach so this has been a special thing for us too. That’s one of the great things about sport is that it really allows you to pour passion into things that really bond people together and unite them forever. It’s a great experience and a lot of great relationships built out of it.”
An Amherst alum, Hixon first became involved with the Lord Jeffs after he was recruited to play football, basketball and run track. After injuring himself in the summer before his freshman year, he ran track and played basketball for four years, eventually becoming a captain of the basketball team and winning the Hitchcock Fellowship after graduation. This allowed him to stay on at the College as a coach for all three of the sports he was originally recruited to play. When he moved up, he switched from track to soccer and continued coaching basketball and football in a system that was radically different from the one today.
“When the head basketball coach retired at 65, I thought I was too young, but I applied [for the job] anyway,” he remembered. “I [coached] basketball the whole way. I coached soccer for 23 years [and] I was actually the head women’s coach for a year. I was [an] assistant [coach] in the men’s program for many years, with the women for four years and coached track for 12 years. Back in the day, we all coached three sports. You made it work. It’s just what everybody did. There were times when I was coaching football till Nov. 14, and basketball started Nov. 1. I would [coach] football during the daylight hours and basketball at night. We did fine.”
As an Amherst student, Hixon majored in psychology, and remembers Professor of Spanish James Maraniss’ course on Cervantes and a math class on number theory as his favorite classes. Because Hixon himself underwent the same experiences as his current players, he can better sympathize and understand the stresses of the student-athlete.
“I think what makes Coach Hixon such a great coach is that he understands his players,” said tri-captain Conor Meehan ’11. “He was an Amherst grad who played basketball, so he knows the rigorous demands that student-athletes have to meet. He is always stressing how important academics are and how they should never take a backseat to basketball. But at the same time, he has built a program that only knows winning. We as players understand that we have to balance our time so we can get our academics done in order to succeed on the court.”
Hixon places a great importance on his players’ studies and attributes the longevity of his stay to Amherst’s emphasis on academics.
“I believe in the academic piece of the student athlete. That’s why I’ve stayed here. I think the NESCAC group and Amherst continue to do that better than anybody. We’re sort of the last group of pure student-athletes. That’s important to me. Schools like Amherst still have high requirements for students to get in [and] treat their athletes the same as their students. There are no exceptions given to people because they’re athletes; that’s important to me.”
In his 33-year career with the Lord Jeffs, the 2006-2007 National Association Basketball Coaches National Coach of the Year has guided his team to an overall 600-232 record, including 16 Little Three titles, four ECAC Championships, two NCAA Quarterfinal appearances, two Final Four appearances, two Final appearances and the program’s first ever National Championship in 2007. Within these achievements, Hixon highlights the College’s entry into the NCAA as an especially memorable moment that reaffirmed his belief in the program.
“We’ve only been eligible to go to the NCAA for 15 years,” Hixon explained. “We went up against the number one team that everyone thought couldn’t be beaten, and we went and beat them. It was a realization that we could go against the best schools in Division III and win. It was a time that really showed us we had what it took.”
According to Meehan, Hixon’s coaching style fosters a team spirit and sense of family that helps all of the players grow.
“Coach’s philosophy in regards to the team is to make it as much as a family as possible,” Meehan said. “He stresses that we are all responsible for one another; if one guy is late, we are all at fault because someone should have checked to make sure he was up. I think the family-like atmosphere that Coach Hixon creates is what makes our program so special.”
As tri-captain and one of the team’s leading scorers, Meehan attributed much of his development over his three years on the team to Hixon’s care and help.
“Coach Hixon’s style of coaching has really helped me grow as a player,” he explained. “He builds strong relationships with all his players, and the lines of communications are always open. As a point guard, I never feel like voicing my input about a situation in a game or practice will go unheard. I truly feel that I can come to him about anything.”
Regardless of all the honors and plaudits that Hixon has received, it is the connections he forged, the players he coached and the hurdles they crossed together that he remembers and values most.
“People always talk about when you reach milestones and wins, but it’s really much more about the relationships, the process that got you there, the importance piece that got you there,” said Hixon. “I’m a process guy. It is a good thing to sit and look back when you get to these milestones because it makes you … think about all the things you went through to get there, all the people you went through these things with and that’s what it’s all about.”