CHANDLER, Ariz. — The search for a new head football coach at Hamilton High School has come to a close as Eastmark head coach Travis Dixon will be making the move from Mesa to Chandler, the school announced Monday.
The move is still pending school board approval. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 17.
Dixon is a Hamilton alum and won a state championship in 2004 as the Huskies quarterback.
He is taking over for Mike Zdebski, who was the Huskies head coach for six years after moving from Michigan, where he was a Hall of Fame high school football coach. Zdebski stepped down in late November.
Dixon played college football at UNLV, where he started nine games as a quarterback his freshman year before changing positions to become a defensive back.
His coaching career began in 2011 and includes stops at Arizona State, Arizona Western College, UNLV and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
Dixon also spent time coaching under head coach Eddy Zubey at Higley High School in Gilbert, where he was the defensive backs coach and helped lead the Knights to the 2022 5A state championship, which was the first state title in school history.
In 2023, he was hired as the head coach at Eastmark High School in Mesa, where he took over for Scooter Molander, who left to become the head coach at Desert Vista High School in Ahwatukee.
Dixon led the Firebirds to an 8-2 record and 4A East Sky region championship. Eastmark beat Buckeye Union in the first round of the 4A playoffs before losing to Yuma Catholic in the quarterfinals.
Dixon will be tasked with bringing Hamilton back to the pinnacle of high school football in Arizona. The Huskies, who have been one of the best football teams in Arizona since the turn of the century, have yet to win an Open Division state championship and they have not won a state championship since winning the Division I crown in 2012.
The Huskies have qualified for all five Open Division playoffs. They reached the state championship game in 2000, but were defeated by archrival Chandler, 23-21.
The Huskies have seven state titles in school history (2003 [5A], 2004 [5A], 2006 [5A Division I], 2008 [5A Division I], 2009 [5A Division I], 2010 [5A Division I], 2012 [Division I]).
Arizona College Prep promotes defensive coordinator
Elsewhere in the Chandler Unified School District, Arizona College Prep announced that defensive coordinator Steven Vaught has been promoted to become the school's next head football coach, pending school board approval.
Vaught had been the Knight's defensive coordinator after coming over from Chandler High School.
He takes over for Myron Blueford, who stepped down in December.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. The Coyotes play at Mullett Arena on ASU's Tempe campus.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
Friday Night Fever on YouTube
Get the latest high school football news and highlights on the 12News YouTube channel. And don't forget to subscribe!