The Maggie Dixon Classic is an annual early-season women's college basketball tournament that was first played in 2006. The classic is played in honor of Maggie Dixon who, in April 2006, just after leading the Army women's basketball team to their first-ever NCAA tournament, died suddenly due to an arrhythmia caused by a previously undiagnosed heart condition.
On November 12, 2006, the first Maggie Dixon Classic was played at the Christl Arena in West Point, New York, where Maggie coached her only season with the Lady Knights. Since this edition of the Maggie Dixon Classic, every other classic had featured a four-team, two-game doubleheader. The 2006 Maggie Dixon Classic was the only edition of the event to feature a men's game; in which the Pittsburgh Panthers coached by Jamie Dixon, Maggie's brother, defeated Western Michigan by a final score of 86–67.
In 2007, the Maggie Dixon Classic was moved to the historic Madison Square Garden in New York City and has been held there ever since. The Maggie Dixon Classic has also produced the eventual national champions in 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2013. Also in 2010, the UConn women's basketball team tied UCLA's 88-game win streak from the 1970s. The Huskies would eventually break the record and end their winning streak at 90 games.
On January 4, 2015, Immaculata University and Queens College played in the Maggie Dixon Classic as a commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the first game played between women's basketball teams in the Madison Square Garden. The second game of that doubleheader featured the UConn Huskies and St. John's Red Storm.
In 2016, the Classic was moved to the campus of DePaul University in Chicago, the school where Maggie Dixon served as an assistant coach under the direction of Doug Bruno. Upon moving to Chicago, the Classic was also restructured from its traditional format to a four-team knockout tournament. In 2017, Classic Games were moved to the Wintrust Arena; which opened in October of that year.
DePaul has won both Maggie Dixon Classics played in Chicago.
TCU and Texas A&M took part in the event in 2017 at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas. Since 2018, the Classic has been played annually at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, on the campus of TCU. The Horned Frogs hosted Dixon's former team, Army, in 2018 and again battled the Black Knights in the 2023 edition of the Classic.
Past Results and Appearances
Date Location Winning team Losing team November 12, 2006 Christl Arena(West Point, New York) Pittsburgh (men) 86 Western Michigan (men) 67 Ohio State 77 Army 41 December 8, 2007 Madison Square Garden(New York City) Duke 51 Pittsburgh 49 Rutgers 75 Army 68 December 14, 2008 Rutgers 59 Army 38 Connecticut 77 Penn State 63 December 13, 2009 Baylor 68 Boston College 55 Tennessee 68 Rutgers 54 December 19, 2010* Texas A&M 79 Rutgers 50 Connecticut 81 Ohio State 50 December 11, 2011 Baylor 73 St. Johns 59 Tennessee 84 DePaul 61 December 9, 2012 Rutgers 73 Louisiana Tech 46 Duke 60 St. Johns 42 December 22, 2013 St. Johns 72 Texas A&M 70 Connecticut 80 California 47January 4, 2015Queens College 76Immaculata University 60Connecticut 70 St. Johns 54December 28, 2015Connecticut 83Maryland 73November 11, 2016McGrath-Phillips Arena(Chicago, Illinois)UAB 59Gardner-Webb 49DePaul 99Appalachian State 58November 12, 2016Appalachian State 72Gardner-Webb 67DePaul 90UAB 80November 17, 2017Wintrust Arena(Chicago, Illinois)Saint Louis 79Ole Miss64DePaul110Delaware State71November 18, 2017DePaul86Saint Louis78Ole Miss110Delaware State58December 6, 2017Reed Arena (College Station, Texas)Texas A&M71TCU58December 1, 2018Schollmaier Arena (Fort Worth, Texas)TCU63Army38December 1, 2019TCU77Boise State65Florida State80Texas A&M58November 21, 2021North Carolina79TCU49Duke74Alabama71November 20, 2022South Florida66TCU59Oklahoma89UT Arlington80November 19, 2023Army West Point88TCU51December 15, 2024TCU92Louisiana Tech 41November 23, 2025TCU93UTRGV 57
Appearances As of the 2025 Maggie Dixon Classic, excluding the men's game from 2006. Teams in bold text won their game.
RankSchoolTimesYears participated1TCU82017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 20252Rutgers 52007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012UConn52008, 2010, 2013, 2015 (Jan.), 2015 (Dec.)St. John's52011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017Army52006, 2007, 2008, 2018, 20233Texas A&M42010, 2013, 2017, 20194Duke32007, 2012, 2021DePaul32011, 2016, 20175Ohio State22006, 2010Tennessee22009, 2011Baylor2 2009, 2010Louisiana Tech22012, 20246Queens College12015 (Jan.)Immaculata12015 (Jan.)California12013Boston College12009Penn State12008Pittsburgh12007Maryland12015 (Dec.)Appalachian State12016UAB12016Gardner-Webb12016Delaware St.12017Ole Miss12017St. Louis12017Army12018Boise State12019Alabama12021North Carolina12021South Florida12022UT Arlington12022UT Rio Grande Valley12025
Maggie Dixon Courage Award Since the 2009 Classic, the family of Maggie Dixon has presented the Maggie Dixon Courage Award. This award is presented to an individual who exhibits courage in the face of adversity and continues to exemplify Dixon's mantra of never allowing adversity get in the way of achieving a dream. The award is always presented by Dixon's sister Julie Dixon Silva and by Dixon's older brother Jamie Dixon.
Edition RecipientSchool/affiliation 2009 LTC Kim Kawamoto former Army women's basketball playerC. Vivian Stringer Rutgers women's basketball head coach2010 Tierra Rodgers California women's basketball player2011 Pat Summitt Tennessee women's basketball head coach2012 Joe Heskett Army wrestling head coach2013 Tracey Ryan registered nurse at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UMPC)2015 Geno Auriemma UConn women's basketball head coach
References