Jamie Dixon appears to be high on UCLA’s list of potential men’s head basketball coaches, but there may be a big financial obstacle standing in the way of them hiring him away from TCU.
Reports on Tuesday indicated that Dixon is nearing a deal with UCLA, but he has a hefty buyout with TCU. Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times was told that buyout is worth $8 million, and Dixon is trying to negotiate it all the way down to $1 million.
Latest I've heard on Jamie Dixon: He's trying to negotiate his $8-million buyout down to $1 million. Barring that, UCLA will have to come up with the money. Have also been told that Mick Cronin is getting antsy and the next 24 hours could be critical to keeping him in the mix.
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) April 3, 2019
Buyouts exist for this exact reason, and there is no reason TCU should have to give up $7 million of what was a previously agreed upon arrangement. The idea of a buyout is to discourage a coach from leaving a program, so Dixon and UCLA should have to pony up if he wants to leave TCU after three seasons.
For what it’s worth, Stadium’s Jeff Goodman reports that Dixon and UCLA are confident the buyout can be sorted through.
UCLA trying to work out a deal with TCU’s Jamie Dixon, source told @Stadium. Dixon has a significant buyout, but both sides feel as though it won’t stand in the way of a deal.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 3, 2019
Dixon was asked about the UCLA rumors recently and did not exactly issue a denial, so it could be just a matter of time before he’s announced as the next coach at UCLA. If the two sides are committed to it happening, the buyout is unlikely to be a deal-breaker.
