Miller Retires As Men's & Women's Wrestling Coach
The sixth-year Pacific head coach will retire and enter private business after a 17-year career that includes stops at the Division I and Division III levels
FOREST GROVE - After six years leading the Pacific men's and women's
wrestling programs, Head Coach Scott Miller has announced that he is
retiring from coaching.
Miller said that he plans to leave the mat after 17 years as a head
coach at the Division I and Division III levels to enter private
business in Spokane, Wash. Miller and his wife, Patti, are both
natives of the Inland Empire region.
Miller said that the rigors of coaching two programs at one time has
limited the time that he would like to spend with his family, which was
a contributing factor to his decision. "I'm worn out," Miller
said. "We have two programs and they have taken all of my
time. It's really two years jammed into one.
"I still like coaching," Miller added. "I could very easily coach
again next year, but I think if I leave now it gives a new coach some
good people to work with."
Pacific Director of Athletics Ken Schumann praised Miller for his work
with both the men's and women's programs over the last six years.
"Scott has been a great member of our team for the past six years and,
in addition to being a valued colleague, has done a tremendous job with
our student-athletes in our wrestling programs."
Pacific was Miller's first Division III coaching position after 12
years coaching Division I programs. In six seasons, Miller
coached the Boxers' men to a 33-37 record, capped by a 9-9 mark in
2004-05 and a 5-5 record this year. Miller mentored a number of
wrestlers with 100 or more wins in their career, including Mick Davis,
Garret Miyake and Kevin Spangler. This season, Miller coached
184-pounder Nick Locke to a 31-15 record.
On the women's side, Miller continued the process of growing the
Pacific program into a larger and more formidable program. Miller
led Pacific to a national tournament runner-up finish in 2004-05 and
has coached 34 All-Americans.
This year, Miller made a bold move in becoming one of the first
collegiate women's wrestling programs to join the National Collegiate
Wrestling Association's (NCWA) women's division. The Boxers made
a splash in the NCWA's first national tournament, finishing in second
place while changing from freestyle to collegiate style wrestling.
Miller said he is satisfied with where he is leaving the Pacific
programs. "I would have liked to have won the women's nationals,
but we gave it a good run, and I liked how our men seemed to have
turned it around this year," Miller said. "I think the pieces are
there and, with a little development, we will be on top. I think
good things are happening here and I think it just needs someone with a
little more energy."
Prior to arriving at Pacific, Miller spent three years as head coach at
Syracuse University, where he mentored the Orange in the final years of
the school's varsity program. He also spent eight seasons as head
coach at Campbell University in North Carolina and one year as the
interim head coach at his alma mater, Eastern Washington.
Miller said he will continue to be involved in wrestling. He
plans to work with NCWA in an advisory role, helping to start more
women's programs in the northwest.
A search committee has been formed to find a new head coach for the
Pacific men's and women's wrestling programs. Interested
individuals should forward their resume to Ken Schumann, Director of
Athletics, Pacific University, UC Box A-154, 2043 College Way, Forest
Grove, OR 97116.
Posted by Blake Timm (timmbr@pacificu.edu) on Apr 4, 2008 at 9:28 AM
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