Jackson State has hired former Texas Southern women’s basketball coach Surina Dixon.
Dixon, who was fired by TSU in 2008 just three months after she was hired, signed a three-year $96,000 per year deal.
“The time has come for us to take our place back at the top with forty minutes of organized fire,” Dixon said at her introductory press conference.
Dixon was awarded $730,000 last year by a Houston judge as part of a Title IX and Title VII discrimination lawsuit she filed against Texas Southern.
Dixon replaces longtime Jackson State head coach Denise Taylor who was let go by the university last June. Taylor, who complied a 153-143 record in 10 seasons on the bench, filed a lawsuit against the school in January claiming wrongful termination and retaliation. In her absence, the Lady Tigers moved forward with Larry McNeil on an interim basis, where he led the team to an 11-17 record.
Dixon has spent the past three years at Southwind High School in Memphis, where she had a 67-20 record. Before her time at Southwind, she was the head coach at NCAA Division II Lane College in Jackson, Tenn., from 2005 to 2007. She also spent four seasons as head coach at Division I Maryland-Eastern Shore.
In six seasons as a head coach on the collegiate level, Dixon’s career record stands at 57-114.
