| Coach Ron Miller |
The University of North Carolina, an institution rich in both academic and athletic
tradition, experienced many changes during the last forty plus years.
Chancellors, faculty members and coaches have come and gone. Old buildings
have been razed and new buildings erected. Yet there is one athletic program
on campus still guided by the same strong hand that forged it. Today's visitors to
Fetzer Gym can still hear the same booming voice that once echoed through
Carmichael Auditorium and the old "tin can," where fencing classes first formed
at Carolina.
Coach Ron Miller came to Carolina in 1967 as a physical education instructor.
The Kentucky native, who grew up in Florida, brought knowledge of a sport
virtually unknown to a southern campus bred on basketball and football. Not only
did Miller impart that knowledge to countless students in physical education
classes, he established and maintained the South's dominant fencing program.
Miller's encouragement and charismatic coaching style were enough to lure
athletes to the fledgling program that offered no scholarships or campus fanfare.
The requisite hard work and dedicated effort that Miller demanded, however,
gave rise to a unique skill in athletes drawn to the speed and discipline of
fencing.
More than fencing lessons have been learned from the 62-year-old Miller
through the years at Carolina. His teams' 40 year record, 1165 - 523, proves
that many acquired the skills that helped them learn about winning. Thirteen of
Miller's students achieved All-American status. Four Carolina fencers were U.S.
National Fencing Team members, while two were Olympians. Yet Miller, the
Collegiate Coach of the Year in 1983 and 1986, has never been one to track his
teams' win-loss totals. Members of past and present Carolina fencing teams say
they have learned through Coach Miller about what it takes to be a winner in life,
not just about thrusts and ripostes.
Fencing is a sport that is inherently individual, but Miller's teams are close-knit
crews. Drills and practice matches are expressly team-oriented. Carolina's
fencers are schooled in a manner that encourages support among teammates
who square off against each other during training. Special friendships invariably
develop throughout Miller's squads during weeks of practice and hours of travel
to distant matches.
Now in his 40th season as Carolina's fencing coach, Miller's inspirational
dedication to his school, his sport, and his teams has come to be recognized as
being as impressive as that of another longtime Carolina icon.
Miller's influence on his fencing squads parallels that of legendary basketball
coach Dean Smith's impact on former basketball players and coaches. Smith's
October 9, 1997, retirement left Miller as the most tenured coach at Carolina.
The scene at Smith's retirement announcement, which featured former and
current players overflowing with veneration, appreciation and gratitude, was
repeated just nine days later in the same building at a tribute for Miller.
More than 140 former fencers, whose numbers included team members from
nearly every squad since 1968, gathered at the Dean E. Smith Center on
October 18, 1997, to celebrate and honor Miller's tenure.
Words like commitment, dedication and integrity, all uttered in the same building
for another coach so recently, were spoken in homage of Ron Miller. NCAA
champion fencer, 1992 Olympic fencer and 1983 Carolina alumnus John
Friedberg, in thanking Miller, called the Carolina program a "unique, special
environment to learn in."
Friedberg and the other assembled alumni used the occasion to announce the
formation of a new fencing association that will support Miller's fencing teams in
the future. A fencing endowment fund will be used to improve Carolina's fencing
facilities and equipment in the coming years.
Former fencers have not only contributed money to Miller's program, but many
are still active in a sport that most had not encountered before they met Miller.
Eight of Miller's former fencers have at one time led their own college fencing
programs.
More than just a Tar Heel hero, fencers from across the region and the nation
have benefited from Miller's talents through his involvement with the United
States Fencing Association (USFA), the NCAA, the U.S. Olympic and World
Fencing Teams, and regional fencing clubs.
Miller served as a coach for the U.S. Junior World Team in 1981 and was also
the coach for the Senior World Championship Team in 1983. The 1987 Junior
Pan American Team was also coached by Miller. From 1985-95, he served as
the director of the USFA's National Coaches College and from 1983-91, he was
the director of the USFA's National Junior Elite Summer Programs. He is a
two-time member of the NCAA's Fencing Committee and is a three-time NCAA
Regional Committee Chair. Miller has been a USFA National Coaching Staff
member since 1977.
Miller received his Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and Psychology from
Florida State University in 1966. He received his Master's in Exercise Science
from Eastern Kentucky University in 1967. Miller earned his Doctorate in
Exercise Science, Higher Education, Guidance and Psychology from Carolina in
1974. Coach Miller was also awarded a "Maitre d' Armes," in 1975. Coach Miller
lives in Chapel Hill and has three children: Caroline, Joe and Kurt.
The University of North Carolina fencing team completed the 2007-8 season with
a combined record of 53 victories and 20 defeats. The men's team finished the
season with 28 victories and 10 losses while the women's team managed 25 wins
and 10 losses. Miller stated, "the main significance of it is a culmination of, shall
we say, the hard work of all our athletes from 1967 to the present. So it is an end
result of their combined efforts. I have been associated with it all and I have seen
it all since the beginning, but it is not my record it is their record, the
student-athletes."
The Miller Bio
Education:
-Florida State University '66 (B.S. in Exercise Science and Psychology)
-Eastern Kentucky University '67 (Master's in Exercise Science)
-University of North Carolina '74 (Doctorate in Exercise Science, Higher
Education, Guidance and Psychology)
Quick Facts:
Miller has completed 41 years of coaching at Carolina, making him the longest
tenured coach at the university.
Miller was named the Collegiate Coach of the Year in 1983 & 1986.
13 of Miller's fencers at Carolina have received All-America honors.
Four members of Miller's teams were named to the U.S. National Fencing Team.
Two members of Miller's athletes, John Friedberg in men's sabre and Nhi Lan Le
in women's epee, were Olympians.
Miller was awarded the "Maitre d' Armes," a fencing masters diploma, in 1975.
Miller's 2004-05 team broke the 1000th win mark on December 5, 2004.
Career Win/Loss totals: Men 619-261, Women 546-262
17th Place (tie) in NCAA Finals, 2008 (Combined Men and Women)
tradition, experienced many changes during the last forty plus years.
Chancellors, faculty members and coaches have come and gone. Old buildings
have been razed and new buildings erected. Yet there is one athletic program
on campus still guided by the same strong hand that forged it. Today's visitors to
Fetzer Gym can still hear the same booming voice that once echoed through
Carmichael Auditorium and the old "tin can," where fencing classes first formed
at Carolina.
Coach Ron Miller came to Carolina in 1967 as a physical education instructor.
The Kentucky native, who grew up in Florida, brought knowledge of a sport
virtually unknown to a southern campus bred on basketball and football. Not only
did Miller impart that knowledge to countless students in physical education
classes, he established and maintained the South's dominant fencing program.
Miller's encouragement and charismatic coaching style were enough to lure
athletes to the fledgling program that offered no scholarships or campus fanfare.
The requisite hard work and dedicated effort that Miller demanded, however,
gave rise to a unique skill in athletes drawn to the speed and discipline of
fencing.
More than fencing lessons have been learned from the 62-year-old Miller
through the years at Carolina. His teams' 40 year record, 1165 - 523, proves
that many acquired the skills that helped them learn about winning. Thirteen of
Miller's students achieved All-American status. Four Carolina fencers were U.S.
National Fencing Team members, while two were Olympians. Yet Miller, the
Collegiate Coach of the Year in 1983 and 1986, has never been one to track his
teams' win-loss totals. Members of past and present Carolina fencing teams say
they have learned through Coach Miller about what it takes to be a winner in life,
not just about thrusts and ripostes.
Fencing is a sport that is inherently individual, but Miller's teams are close-knit
crews. Drills and practice matches are expressly team-oriented. Carolina's
fencers are schooled in a manner that encourages support among teammates
who square off against each other during training. Special friendships invariably
develop throughout Miller's squads during weeks of practice and hours of travel
to distant matches.
Now in his 40th season as Carolina's fencing coach, Miller's inspirational
dedication to his school, his sport, and his teams has come to be recognized as
being as impressive as that of another longtime Carolina icon.
Miller's influence on his fencing squads parallels that of legendary basketball
coach Dean Smith's impact on former basketball players and coaches. Smith's
October 9, 1997, retirement left Miller as the most tenured coach at Carolina.
The scene at Smith's retirement announcement, which featured former and
current players overflowing with veneration, appreciation and gratitude, was
repeated just nine days later in the same building at a tribute for Miller.
More than 140 former fencers, whose numbers included team members from
nearly every squad since 1968, gathered at the Dean E. Smith Center on
October 18, 1997, to celebrate and honor Miller's tenure.
Words like commitment, dedication and integrity, all uttered in the same building
for another coach so recently, were spoken in homage of Ron Miller. NCAA
champion fencer, 1992 Olympic fencer and 1983 Carolina alumnus John
Friedberg, in thanking Miller, called the Carolina program a "unique, special
environment to learn in."
Friedberg and the other assembled alumni used the occasion to announce the
formation of a new fencing association that will support Miller's fencing teams in
the future. A fencing endowment fund will be used to improve Carolina's fencing
facilities and equipment in the coming years.
Former fencers have not only contributed money to Miller's program, but many
are still active in a sport that most had not encountered before they met Miller.
Eight of Miller's former fencers have at one time led their own college fencing
programs.
More than just a Tar Heel hero, fencers from across the region and the nation
have benefited from Miller's talents through his involvement with the United
States Fencing Association (USFA), the NCAA, the U.S. Olympic and World
Fencing Teams, and regional fencing clubs.
Miller served as a coach for the U.S. Junior World Team in 1981 and was also
the coach for the Senior World Championship Team in 1983. The 1987 Junior
Pan American Team was also coached by Miller. From 1985-95, he served as
the director of the USFA's National Coaches College and from 1983-91, he was
the director of the USFA's National Junior Elite Summer Programs. He is a
two-time member of the NCAA's Fencing Committee and is a three-time NCAA
Regional Committee Chair. Miller has been a USFA National Coaching Staff
member since 1977.
Miller received his Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and Psychology from
Florida State University in 1966. He received his Master's in Exercise Science
from Eastern Kentucky University in 1967. Miller earned his Doctorate in
Exercise Science, Higher Education, Guidance and Psychology from Carolina in
1974. Coach Miller was also awarded a "Maitre d' Armes," in 1975. Coach Miller
lives in Chapel Hill and has three children: Caroline, Joe and Kurt.
The University of North Carolina fencing team completed the 2007-8 season with
a combined record of 53 victories and 20 defeats. The men's team finished the
season with 28 victories and 10 losses while the women's team managed 25 wins
and 10 losses. Miller stated, "the main significance of it is a culmination of, shall
we say, the hard work of all our athletes from 1967 to the present. So it is an end
result of their combined efforts. I have been associated with it all and I have seen
it all since the beginning, but it is not my record it is their record, the
student-athletes."
The Miller Bio
Education:
-Florida State University '66 (B.S. in Exercise Science and Psychology)
-Eastern Kentucky University '67 (Master's in Exercise Science)
-University of North Carolina '74 (Doctorate in Exercise Science, Higher
Education, Guidance and Psychology)
Quick Facts:
Miller has completed 41 years of coaching at Carolina, making him the longest
tenured coach at the university.
Miller was named the Collegiate Coach of the Year in 1983 & 1986.
13 of Miller's fencers at Carolina have received All-America honors.
Four members of Miller's teams were named to the U.S. National Fencing Team.
Two members of Miller's athletes, John Friedberg in men's sabre and Nhi Lan Le
in women's epee, were Olympians.
Miller was awarded the "Maitre d' Armes," a fencing masters diploma, in 1975.
Miller's 2004-05 team broke the 1000th win mark on December 5, 2004.
Career Win/Loss totals: Men 619-261, Women 546-262
17th Place (tie) in NCAA Finals, 2008 (Combined Men and Women)
WINS !
Coach Ron Miller - 2008
Go HEELS!
TARHEEL WEATHER
Tra la la
