Eldon Miller (2002) - Hall of Fame

Eldon Miller

Induction:
2002

Eldon Miller hung up his coaching shirt in March of 1998, resigning as UNI's men's basketball coach after 12 successful years at the helm. His career record in 36 years as a head coach was 568-419.

He began his collegiate coaching career at his alma mater, Wittenberg College, in 1962, becoming the nation's youngest head coach at the age of 23. He remained at Wittenberg through the 1969-70 season, compiling a 142-55 record and winning five Ohio Conference titles. His 1963 squad was the NCAA College Division runner-up, while his 1969 and 1970 teams made NCAA regional appearances.

He moved on to Western Michigan, where he compiled an 86-68 overall mark from 1970-76. WMU earned one conference title and a 1976 NCAA regional appearance under Miller's tutelage. Miller was named head coach at Ohio State in 1976 and remained with the Buckeyes until coming to UNI in 1986. His record at OSU was 176-118. The Buckeyes won the 1986 NIT title as he was making his plans to move to Cedar Falls. OSU also advanced to the 1979 NIT Final Four and made two other NIT appearances.

After coming to UNI, Miller guided UNI to the 1990 Association of Mid-Continent Universities Tournament championship and its first Division I NCAA postseason berth, upsetting Missouri in the first round and falling by a slim three-point margin to Minnesota in the second game.

Miller was named Mid-American Coach of the Year, twice received the honor in the Big Ten, was selected the 1989 AMCU Coach of the Year, and the Missouri Valley selected him its 1997 Coach of the Year. He was inducted into Wittenberg's Hall of Fame in 1986. Miller played four years at Wittenberg and was a member of its 1961 College Division national championship team, when he was named MVP.

He served as UNI's interim Director of Athletics in addition to coaching during the 1991-92 season. He was a productive member of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls community apart from his UNI duties, serving as the 1993 Cedar Valley United Way Board Campaign Chair and the Salvation Army fund drive, among others. Also, he played an integral role in the fund for the McLeod Center which opened in 2006.