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| d3photography.com file photo |
It’s a long trip, but a short one at the same time.
Dave Hixon, winner of 826 games at Amherst, two Division III men’s basketball national titles and the 2007 D3hoops.com men’s basketball Coach of the Year, is the first person who spent their career primarily in D-III to be elected to the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
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| Dave Hixon holds the net from the program’s 2013 national championship, won against Mary Hardin-Baylor in Atlanta. Photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com |
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame honored Hixon as part of its 2023 class, which will be inducted this August. The Hall of Fame is just 25 miles from LeFrak Gymnasium, the home of Amherst College basketball.
During his 42-season career at his alma mater, Hixon was the third coach in men’s basketball history across all NCAA divisions to surpass the 800-win mark. His overall record of 826-293 placed him 15th on the NCAA’s list of most wins in men’s collegiate basketball at the time of his retirement in April 2020.
“The Naismith Hall of Fame Class of 2023 is remarkable and truly embodies the breadth and impact of the global game today,” said John L. Doleva, president and CEO of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. “This class represents the game at every level and showcases the incredible efforts of individuals who are not only household names in the game, but also those who teach, coach and counsel men and women at the most organic levels of basketball. The ultimate achievement of a storied career is enshrinement in the Naismith Hall, and this class punctuates and defines what it means to be a Hall of Famer.”
He will be inducted Saturday, August 12, along with the remainder of the 2023 Hall of Fame class which includes Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Pau Gasol and Becky Hammon, as well as veteran NBA coach Gregg Popovich (also a former Division III head coach at Pomona-Pitzer), former North Carolina State coach Jim Valvano, the 1976 US Olympic women’s basketball team, former Purdue coach Gene Keady, former Texas A&M women’s coach Gary Blair and Gene Bess a junior college coach at Three Rivers Community College .