David Hixon '75 was prepared for the call when it came Monday night.

What he wasn't ready for were the words he heard.

"I had prepared some comments if I didn't get in," Hixon recalled. "I wanted to make sure I had something classy ready. But I didn't have anything prepared for being elected."

Thus, Hixon's response to Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Chairman Jerry Colangelo was simply:

"Jerry, can you say that again?"

Amherst College's long-time men's basketball coach, who retired from the institution in 2020, was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the organization announced Saturday from the NCAA Final Four in Houston.

He will be inducted Saturday, August 12^th, along with the remainder of the 2023 Hall of Fame class which includes Dwayne Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Pau Gasol and Becky Hammon, as well as veteran NBA coach Gregg Popovich, former North Carolina State coach Jim Valvano, the 1976 U.S. 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.

"They are all household names," Hixon said. "The word that keeps coming to mind – my wife Mandy says I need to find a better word for it – is surreal. It is just so humbling. I feel so blessed. You don't know how you deserve an honor like this."

Hixon coached at Amherst for 42 years, winning two national championships and twice being named Div. III Coach of the Year. He compiled a coaching record of 826-293, ranking him 15th in NCAA men's basketball when he retired in April 2020. His winning percentage of .738 was good for 10th place in NCAA Division III history at the time of his retirement.

In the Hixon era, Amherst participated in the NCAA national tournament 20 times and compiled a 43-20 postseason record.

Hixon is the first Div. III coach to earn enshrinement into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He was elected to the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. In May of 2022, the floor at Amherst's LeFrak Gymnasium was named Hixon Court.

"I remember in the fall of 1973, myself and some friends were sitting around the dorm at Amherst and someone asked, "where do you see yourself in 10 years?," Hixon recalled. "One said doctor and became a doctor, one said working with computers and worked at IBM, one said psychology/psychiatry and ended up working in that field. I said I wanted to be the next men's basketball coach at Amherst. That's all I ever wanted."

Hixon had several opportunities to leave Amherst for opportunities at higher levels over his 42 years, but could not find a good enough reason to do so.

"I have such a great love of the institution," Hixon said. "I absolutely loved my (student) experience at Amherst and wanted to help provide that to anyone I could while I was (coaching) there. It didn't have to be basketball. I coached women's soccer for a while; whatever avenue I had at Amherst, I used. It's a very special place.

"I'm so proud to represent Div. III and the coaches who aren't known."
 
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT DAVID HIXON:
"We are thrilled that Dave Hixon has been recognized on the most prominent stage of the sport that he has given so much to. It's an honor for him, and an honor for Amherst. It's also a special day for the generations of players who were coached and educated by this legend."
-- Amherst College President Michael A. Elliott

"What an amazing and deserving accomplishment. I'm very happy for Dave, his family and all his former assistants and players. Dave also had a "hall of fame " impact on many coaches and students within Amherst athletics over his 42 years. It's the ultimate pinnacle on such an amazing career."
­­-- Amherst College Director of Athletics Don Faulstick
 
"There is no one more deserving of being inducted into the Naismith Basketball HOF than coach Hixon. In his 42 years as the head coach at Amherst College he went above and beyond to represent and promote Division 3 basketball, and for him to be the first ever D3 coach to be inducted into the HOF is truly fitting and deserved. "Coach was one of the best leaders of all-time at any level. What he did to build an incredibly tight family/alumni base at Amherst is one of his greatest accomplishments that doesn't show up in the numbers.

"We have called him a Hall of Famer for years, but now, the 42 years' worth of alums, families, and friends that he worked with at Amherst get the well-deserved honor of officially calling him a Hall of Fame coach.

"I had the fortune of playing for and working with him for almost 10 years and feel so lucky to call him my coach, my mentor and a great friend."
-- Aaron Toomey '14, University of Rochester Men's Basketball Assistant Coach
 
"Dave Hixon exemplified what a basketball coach should be. He was always a student of the game, well respected by his peers and competitors alike. His players loved him and he had many accomplishments on the court. Congratulations on his induction."
-- Amherst College Head Women's Basketball Coach G.P. Gromacki
 
"I don't know much but I do know that I've never met anyone who loves coaching more than coach Hixon. Whether it was coaching either of his national championship groups, telling stories about the JV soccer team from the early 1980s or mentoring people in our department like myself, coach Hixon's legacy is about helping people becomes the best versions of themselves. 

"The fact that the basketball world has chosen to reward coach Hixon's career as the first DIII coach to be enshrined is so fitting. He's been loyal to the school he loves so deeply and committed to the ideals of DIII from the first moment he stepped on campus. So many coaches have been tempted by constantly moving to the "next best thing" but coach knew that he had what he loved, and that's a heck of a legacy. 

"I'm thrilled for coach, Mandy, Michael and Matthew and I expect that they will soak in all of the great memories they are about to create."
-- Amherst College Head Men's Soccer Coach Justin Serpone
 
"It is hard to put into words the impact that coach Hixon has had not only on my life, but the lives of so many members of the entire Amherst College community. He was much more than just a basketball coach... he was a teacher, a mentor, a father figure, a friend, and now a Hall of Famer.

"It is an honor and a privilege to have played and worked for the first Division III basketball coach to be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and I cannot think of a better or more fitting person to carry the banner and hopefully open the door for other great Division III coaches to be enshrined.

"In my opinion, Coach Hixon is, was, and forever will be the embodiment of all the best parts of not just Amherst College or the Amherst men's basketball program but of Division III athletics and the coaching profession in their entirety."
-- Kevin Hopkins '08, Muhlenberg College Head Men's Basketball Coach
 
"What a tremendous honor for coach Hixon.It is so exciting that the entire basketball community now knows what we have all known for so long, Dave Hixon is one of the best basketball coaches from any level in the history of our game. His resume speaks for itself. The family and community he built at Amherst is truly one of a kind.

"He is a Hall of Fame relationship builder and a father figure to so many. His love and passion for Division 3 basketball has been on display for almost 50 years and I can think of no one more deserving to represent Division 3 basketball in Springfield. Congratulations to coach Hixon!"
-- Matt Goldsmith '08, The College of New Jersey Head Men's Basketball Coach