Maggie Dixon, coached the Army women's basketball team to its first NCAA tournament appearance this season, dead at 28
deb...@comcast.net
Army women's coach, a Southland native, had suffered a heart problem
a day earlier
>From Staff and Wire Report LA Times
9:46 PM PDT, April 6, 2006
Maggie Dixon, a 28-year-old Southern Californian who coached the Army
women's basketball team to its first NCAA tournament appearance this
season, died Thursday afternoon, a day after collapsing and being
hospitalized, a source close to the family confirmed.
Dixon was taken to Westchester (N.Y.) Medical Center after suffering an
"arrhythmic episode to her heart" Wednesday at the U.S. Military
Academy, said her older brother, Pittsburgh men's Coach Jamie Dixon.
"She went to the house of a friend for afternoon tea, where she said
she wasn't feeling good, and she collapsed," said Dixon, who read a
prepared statement from the hospital while his sister was still in
intensive care and before she died.
He said he had breakfast with his sister earlier Wednesday and that she
had apparently been feeling well. Jamie Dixon declined to provide
further details.
A memorial service is scheduled at West Point this afternoon.
Members of her family were with her when she died.
Dixon had no history of heart problems, the friend of the family said.
She had attended the Final Four in Indianapolis with her brother, where
there was no apparent indication of any health irregularities.
Army was Dixon's her first head coaching job. She was hired in October,
only 11 days before practice began, after the previous coach suddenly
resigned for undisclosed reasons. Six months later, Dixon led the team
to its first berth in the women's tournament.
Under Dixon, Army won its first women's Patriot League regular-season
championship, then won the conference tournament title with a 69-68
victory over league power Holy Cross. She led a team that had begun the
season 7-7, then won 13 of its next 16 games.
The rookie coach's accomplishment gained extra attention because her
brother led the Panthers to the men's tournament at the same time.
The Dixons are believed to be the first brother and sister to coach in
the NCAA tournament in the same year.
Army lost to No. 6 Tennessee in the first round of the tournament,
102-54.
A native of North Hollywood who played at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High,
Maggie Dixon had hoped to play in the WNBA after graduating in 1999
from the University of San Diego. But the Sparks cut her after a tryout
in May 2000.
Her brother encouraged her to go into coaching.
"He said, 'If you want to do this coaching thing, do something
drastic,' " Dixon told the Associated Press last month. "That's what I
did."
She walked into DePaul Coach Doug Bruno's office and introduced
herself, was hired and held several positions. In May 2004, she became
Dixon's top assistant.
Kent
> she wasn't feeling good, and she collapsed," said Dixon, who read a
> prepared statement from the hospital while his sister was still in
> intensive care and before she died.
Makes you wonder what was in that tea.
Mordecai
"Kent" <ke...@ixnayonthesamspay-deadoraliveinfo.com> wrote:
You're a riot.
Seriously, though, she was a former player, appeared to be pretty tall
herself. I wonder if Marfan's played a role in this.
--
M.
Laurie Mann
>> In article <P8GdnXs0t-wQzqvZ...@comcast.com>,
>> "She went to the house of a friend for afternoon tea, where she said
>> she wasn't feeling good, and she collapsed," said Dixon, who read a
>> prepared statement from the hospital while his sister was still in
>> intensive care and before she died.
> herself. I wonder if Marfan's played a role in this.
You may be right - she was tall, had a very long face and prominent jaw.
OK, so that doesn't mean anything definite, but...
Here's some info on Marfan syndome:
http://www.marfan.org/nmf/GetContentRequestHandler.do?menu_item_id=4
Heart defects are a common side effect of Marfan syndrome.
Our local news (her brother is the coach at Pitt) even carried a live
press conference from West Point about Maggie Dixon's death.
--
Producer, William Tenn, A Writer's Life
http://www.dpsinfo.com/williamtenn/benefit106.html
Confluence Program Manager
http://www.parsec-sff.org/confluence/
Brigid Nelson
<spamc...@adelphia.net> wrote:
> >Mordecai wrote:
>>> In article <P8GdnXs0t-wQzqvZ...@comcast.com>,
>>> "She went to the house of a friend for afternoon tea, where she said
>>> she wasn't feeling good, and she collapsed," said Dixon, who read a
>>> prepared statement from the hospital while his sister was still in
>>> intensive care and before she died.
>> Seriously, though, she was a former player, appeared to be pretty tall
>> herself. I wonder if Marfan's played a role in this.
>
>You may be right - she was tall, had a very long face and prominent jaw.
>OK, so that doesn't mean anything definite, but...
>
>Here's some info on Marfan syndome:
>
>http://www.marfan.org/nmf/GetContentRequestHandler.do?menu_item_id=4
>
>Heart defects are a common side effect of Marfan syndrome.
>
>Our local news (her brother is the coach at Pitt) even carried a live
>press conference from West Point about Maggie Dixon's death.
Is this group obsessed with Marfan's or what? I've participated
plenty in speculation that such or so was or wasn't a victim of that
particular genetic defect, and perhaps it's time to make our obsession
official. A mention in the FAQ that any young tall deceased person
will be immediately scrutinized to determine whether their demise was
the result of the lurking silent menace? Or maybe just a rendering of
Lurch on the flag - we have a flag don't we?
brigid