John Calipari and Jim Calhoun will present Amherst College’s Dave Hixon during Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony

By KYLE GRABOWSKI

Staff Writer

Published: 07-12-2023 6:21 PM

Two New England basketball coaching legends will welcome one of their own to the hall of fame.

Three-time national champion longtime UConn coach Jim Calhoun and former UMass coach John Calipari, now at Kentucky, will present Amherst College’s Dave Hixon during the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame induction ceremony August 12, the hall announced Wednesday.

Calipari’s time at UMass dovetailed with part of Hixon’s 42-year run at Amherst College.

Hixon never coached against Calhoun during his three-year stint at Division 3 Saint Joseph in Hartford at the end of his career from 2018-21, but he’s known the former Husky head man for most of his life. Calhoun was friends with Hixon’s father Will and knew Dave from camps during his brief time as a high school coach in Dedham in the early 1970s. They’ve been friends for more than 50 years.

Hixon is the first coach to be inducted into the basketball hall of fame after spending his entire career at a Division 3 institution. He won two national titles at Amherst to go along with 826 wins and seven Final Fours in an 11-year span.

The Class of 2023 also includes the likes of Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki and Gregg Popovich in a loaded group.

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