West Point superintendent, Lt. Gen. William J. Lennox Jr., said the entire community is heartbroken by her death.
“From the time Maggie arrived here, her enthusiastic ‘no limits’ approach earned her the respect and love of everyone,” he said. “She consistently displayed great leadership and served as an outstanding role model for those both on – and off – her team. She was a leader of character with a commitment to excellence who set the example in all she did.”
“Her joy in coaching these young women made them believe in themselves and depend on each other,” said Army Athletic Director Kevin Anderson. “Her guidance not only helped them excel here, it will help them become better, more compassionate leaders.”
That sentiment was echoed by one of Army’s star basketball players, guard Cara Enright.
“I just loved the energy that coach brought to practice every day and the way she never gave up on us, always believed in us,” Enright said. “She would tell us to ‘use what you’ve learned here at the academy and apply it to basketball.’
“Coach Dixon made us love the game even more and we played our hearts out every single time we stepped on the court,” Enright added. “She showed us how to be winners on the field and off.”
And that winning legacy will always be remembered, Lennox said.
“Maggie has been a credit to herself and to the mission of the U.S. Military Academy. Her presence here enriched the lives of everyone,” he added. “I will never forget the image of the cadets carrying her on their shoulders as they celebrated the team’s Patriot League championship.”
Last month when both Coach Dixons were getting their teams ready for the NCAAs, there was no shortage of feel-good stories about the siblings and the unique situation. Adrian Wojnarowski was one of the story writers for ESPN.com. Now he reflects on this.
At West Point, they’re used to young people dying young. It’s part of life there. Somehow, this hits differently. Her basketball team had become such an escape for the cadets at the Academy. It had become such a surprisingly special part of the winter.
In the short time that she was at West Point, the Academy became so fond of Maggie Dixon, so taken with the basketball team that came out of nowhere to meet Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament. How many coaches in the history of West Point had been afforded a standing ovation of 4,000 cadets in the dining hall? How many people had turned that most stone-sober place to such elation?
She brought magic to West Point, brought a touch and genuineness that endeared her and her team in a way that no one else in women’s sports history at the Academy had done in that male-dominated environment.
In his 30 years in the business, her top assistant, Dave Magarity, a Division I men’s head coach for 25 years, had never been so moved by a scene as that of witnessing the incredulity of Maggie’s face when the cadets picked her up and paraded her on the court after the Patriot League championship game in March. West Point finished 20-11, the best basketball season at West Point since Bob Knight was coaching there more than 30 years ago.
“She’s a special kid,” Magarity told me. He would catch himself calling her a “kid,” but hey, that — and coach — was what she was. “I know she isn’t a kid, but she is to me. But Maggie, she’s going to be a star.”
…
I was just going back through my notes, remembering our conversation for a column on the morning of the Big East championship game. She had interrupted our chat for a moment to wish her brother well before he left for the Garden, before the whole Dixon family eventually made it down courtside behind the Pitt bench.Yes, this had been the best weekend of the family’s life, from the banks of the Hudson River at West Point all the way to Madison Square Garden. They thought it was going to be the beginning of years and years of these weekends, mother and father, brother and sister, chasing March championships into forever. Three weeks later, the Dixons were gathered again.
No warning, no justice. All of it, just so cruel.
And it will never make any sense.
