ALL-TIME "WINNINGEST" FOOTBALL COACH IN NEW ENGLAND DIVISION III DON MILLER STEPS DOWN AFTER 32 SEASONS

Hartford, Conn., December 10, 1998 -- Don Miller, the "winningest" coach in Trinity College football history, announced his plans to step down as head coach of the Bantams’ football squad. As head coach for 32 years, Miller compiled a 174-77-5 career record, and during this period only four Miller-coached teams slipped below the .500 mark. Miller recently (1997 season) became New England Division III football’s all-time "winningest" coach, surpassing his former mentor, retired Amherst College coach James Ostendarp. Miller owns one of the highest winning percentages (.693) among all active football coaches in the nation.

"It has been a wonderful experience here at Trinity - a great ride!" said Miller. "I’ve given this matter long and serious attention, and it’s the hardest decision I’ve ever made. But there comes a time in a coach’s career when he just knows it’s time. I am very proud of the tradition of excellence we have developed. The football program is in great shape and shows great promise for the future. It’s a good time - the right time - to pass the torch, and I’m very comfortable and confident about my decision to do so."

"Don Miller is a legend. It’s that simple," said Trinity College President Evan S. Dobelle. "Don has left an indelible imprint on intercollegiate athletics and in the record books. Just as importantly, he has left an imprint on hundreds of young men who have considered him a teacher and friend. With Don at the helm, Trinity’s football squad has been a NESCAC powerhouse. His has been an era of excellence in Trinity football, and he is leaving very big shoes to fill. More than that, he is leaving a legacy that both he and Trinity deserve to be enormously proud of."

With his "multi-flex" offense, Coach Miller and his teams have brought a high-powered style of offense into full strength. Since he took the helm in 1967, Miller-led teams have averaged 25 points per game. In 1993, with an average 44.3 points per game, the Bantams set a record with 355 points in a season. That year Miller’s career hit another milestone when he coached the team to his first undefeated season (8-0) and a number-one ranking in the final ECAC Division III New England Poll. Trinity has posted a winning NESCAC record in every season but one since 1979, including three finishes (1991, 1993, 1996) at the top of the league. Since 1992, the year when the NESCAC went into a league-only schedule, Trinity has recorded an impressive 41-15 record, second only to Williams’ 48-5-3 mark. During those six seasons, Trinity was 21-7 at home on Dan Jessee Field.

"I also have the good fortune of staying in touch with many of my former players after the conclusion of their college careers," said Miller. "One of the things I’m proudest of is their contributions to society in their lives after Trinity. They’ve grown to be outstanding individuals who make me and so many of my colleagues proud to say these are Trinity graduates."

Gerald Hansen ‘51, Trinity’s long-time director of alumni relations and recently retired as Secretary of the College, said, "On behalf of the alumni I want to thank Don for the honor and sense of pride he has given to Trinity. He will be remembered for the many thrills he has provided over the years. Don will be sorely missed on the sidelines but will remain in our hearts as the molder of some of Trinity’s most successful alumni."

Stanley Twardy ‘73, a prominent attorney with Day, Berry & Howard and previously United States Attorney for Connecticut and chief of staff to former Connecticut governor Lowell Weicker, played football under Miller as an undergraduate. On the news of his former coach’s decision to step down, Twardy, who today is a member of Trinity’s Board of Trustees, reflected, "Don Miller has had a tremendously positive effect on Trinity students over the many years, including on me. He helped prepare me for my career as a lawyer and in public service by the example he set. His standards were very high, and he wanted us to be both physically and mentally tough. Winning was important, but how you played - by the rules and giving it all you’ve got - was most important to Don. He expected - in fact demanded - that we play by the rules and give it all we had, win or lose. These standards have been a guiding principle in my career and in my life. I’m eternally grateful to Don."

When asked to describe his philosophy of coaching, Miller gets emotional and has a simple answer: he has always treated his players the way he would want his son treated. (Miller’s son was captain of the Bates football team and now is general manager of SportsClub LA, an exclusive health spa in Beverly Hills, CA.) "I believe in treating our players with respect, evaluating them fairly, giving them every opportunity to excel, and being positive when corrections have to be made. I never put them down. And I follow them after they leave Trinity. It’s clear that they’ve learned so much more than football plays."

"As I look back on my career and what’s now my last season at Trinity, I can say that I was able to teach right to the last day. I enjoyed both the responsibility and the rewards down to the last play. It has been a joy to be part of Division III football. And it has been an honor and privilege to be part of Trinity College, where I have enjoyed enormous and steady support from the administration, worked with some tremendous young coaches who’ve gone on to some great coaching jobs across the country, and had the opportunity to teach some extraordinary players who were winners on and off the field and who’ve made me proud long after they left Trinity."

Miller has been successful in athletics his entire life. In high school he captained the football, basketball, and baseball teams at Prospect Park (PA) High School. He also competed in all three sports at the University of Delaware. Starting every game for four years at quarterback for the Blue Hens, Miller was named a First-Team Little All-American at the conclusion of his senior year.

Miller compiled a 31-2 record from 1955 to 1958 as the head football coach at Newark (DE) High School. During this time, Miller earned credits toward a master’s degree in education from the University of Delaware. In 1957 he earned his degree, and in 1958 he was named Delaware’s high school Coach of the Year. He served as the offensive coordinator at Amherst College under head coach Ostendarp from 1959 to 1964 before coming to Trinity in 1965. Before assuming the helm at Trinity, he served as an assistant coach to the legendary Dan Jessee for two years. After Jessee retired, Miller became the 25^th man to hold the head coaching reins at Trinity, but only the second since 1932.