The Nevada Men’s Basketball program and Head Coach Steve Alford have announced the addition of Nate Dixon to the staff as an Assistant Coach.
“Nate is well-known for his character, integrity, and work ethic,” said Alford. “He brings a ton of experience with consistent success, including in the Mountain West Conference. We are incredibly excited for Nate, his wife Kristin, and two sons Walker and Hunter to join the Wolf Pack family.”
Dixon is elated to begin his new role with Nevada, saying “I am incredibly excited for the opportunity for my family and I to join such a prestigious university, program, and community with a great history of success. We have experienced firsthand the passion that the Reno community has for Coach Alford and the Wolf Pack basketball program. I look forward to getting to work and helping build upon the upward trajectory that the program has experienced.”
Dixon brings a wealth of experience to the Wolf Pack program, as he has spent over 25 seasons as a collegiate basketball coach at 12 different programs during his career.
Dixon has been highly successful throughout his entire career, as he has been a part of six conference championship teams, while helping lead five teams to the NCAA Tournament (three at Division I and two at Division II). Dixon has been rated as one of the top mid-major assistants by both Basketball Times and HoopScoop Online and he served on the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Board of Directors two separate times. Dixon was also invited to the Jay Bilas Coaches Leadership Program in 2022, and he was selected to participate in the prestigious 2020 TopConnect Virtual Seminar. Top Connect, formerly known as Villa 7, originated in 2003 and aims to identify the top basketball Assistant Coaches in the country.
No stranger to the Mountain West, Dixon joins the staff at Nevada after most recently holding the role of lead Assistant Coach at Utah State, a position he held from 2021-23.
While on staff at Utah State, Dixon primarily worked with the Aggies’ front court, helping mentor two All-Mountain West selections in Justin Bean and Brandon Horvath. Dixon helped Utah State secure an at-large bid to the 2023 NCAA Tournament, as the Aggies earned the No. 10 seed in the South Region. Utah State completed the 2022-23 season with an overall record of 26-9, including a mark of 13-5 in Mountain West play.
Prior to his time in Logan, Utah, Dixon served as the lead Assistant Coach at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) for five seasons from 2016-2021.
Dixon helped lead the Retrievers to three 20-win seasons, two trips to the America East Tournament Championship game, one conference tournament title in 2018, and one regular season championship in 2020-21. Dixon was a member of the coaching staff in 2018 that helped lead UMBC to an NCAA Tournament victory, as the Retrievers made history by becoming the first No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament history after UMBC beat top-seeded Virginia in the first round.
Dixon helped mentor four all-conference selections during his time on staff at UMBC, including two-time America East All-Defensive Team honoree and 2018 America East Defensive Player of the Year K.J. Maura. At one point, Dixon was named one of the top five assistant coaches in the America East Conference by Stadium.
Before joining the UMBC program, Dixon spent one season as the Associate Head Coach at Lenoir-Rhyne in 2015-16. While on staff with the Bears, Dixon helped the program reach the Sweet-16 for the first time in school history.
Dixon spent the previous four seasons before Lenoir-Rhyne as an Assistant Coach at Charlotte, where he was the team’s technology and scouting assistant.
Prior to joining the staff at Charlotte, Dixon spent time at Wyoming (2010-11), Louisiana-Lafayette (2009-10), New Orleans (2007-09), Louisiana-Monroe (2005-07), Florida (2003-05), and Stetson (2001-03). Dixon also had two stints at Division II schools, as he was a part of the staff at Queens University (1998-2001), and Belmont Abbey (1997-98).
Dixon played an instrumental role in helping recruit and assemble the Florida roster that won back-to-back National Championships in 2006 and 2007. The Gators’ roster had a plethora of talent and future NBA players during and after his time there, including David Lee, Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Marreese Speights, and Corey Brewer, among others.
While on staff at Queens, Dixon helped lead the Royals to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including one Elite Eight appearance.
Dixon is originally from Sparta, North Carolina, and he played two seasons of collegiate basketball at Gardner-Webb and one season at LaGrange (Ga.). Dixon graduated from UNC Wilmington in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in communications.
Nevada is coming off a tremendous season in which the Pack earned their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, and completed the year with an overall record of 26-6. Alford and his staff have brought in a plethora of new talent this offseason, as Nevada aims to compete for a Mountain West Championship and secure the program’s third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
