PITTSBURGH — Oregon has not contacted Pittsburgh for permission to talk to Jamie Dixon about its coaching opening, Panthers athletic director Steve Pederson said Tuesday.

Dixon, a former University of Hawaii assistant, is one of college basketball's most successful coaches despite not getting Pitt to the Final Four in seven seasons, averaging nearly 27 victories per season. The Panthers went 25-9 and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament this season despite returning one only starter from the team that went 31-5 in 2008-09.

Pat Kilkenny, the former Oregon athletic director who is leading the Ducks' coaching search, and Dixon were in New York last weekend, leading to speculation the two may have at least talked.

"When you have coaches who have been successful, like our coaches have been, people are going to talk about them and suggest that they would be good candidates," Pederson said. "But I happen to think that they're good candidates for this job, too."

Arizona, Arizona State and Southern Cal are among the schools known to have been interested in Dixon during recent seasons.

Dixon, who is under contract through the 2015-16 season, was an assistant under Ben Howland for four seasons before succeeding him at Pitt in 2003.

"For 11 years, I don't know anybody who has been more loyal or has worked harder or put more of his heart and soul into the University of Pittsburgh than Jamie Dixon has," Pederson said. "So, every time something like this comes up, I would let their actions speak for them."