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| Wisconsin Lutheran photo by Jeff Wilson |
Dennis Miller, the first head coach of the Wisconsin Lutheran football program, has announced his retirement after 19 seasons as head coach of the Warriors, athletic director Skip Noon announced today.
"I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to serve at Wisconsin Lutheran College for the past 20-plus years," said Miller. "This is such a special place, with great people and a focused Christian mission. I feel blessed to have been a part of the unique experience of building an intercollegiate football program. When we started this football program over 20 years ago, our goal was to develop a successful Christ-centered program. We have done this through the efforts of a lot of great staff and players and I sincerely thank each one of them. This has never been a job – it has been a joy!"
Under Miller's guidance, the Warriors went 41-32 all-time in NACC games and finished with at least a .500 record in conference play eight times in the last 10 seasons. The 2014 NACC Co-Coach of the Year, Miller and the Warriors earned a share of the program's first conference title six years ago. WLC won a school record six straight games to close out the 2014 season and finished 7-3 overall with a 5-1 mark in the NACC. The seven wins matched a school record while the five conference victories also tied the 2011 and 2012 teams.
Wisconsin Lutheran matched its best season in program history two seasons prior, finishing the 2012 campaign 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the NACC. WLC's two conference defeats were by a combined 15 points. The Green and White boasted the top pass defense in NCAA Division III and finished in the top seven in three other statistical categories: total defense (fourth), pass efficiency defense (fifth), and scoring defense (seventh).
Fifty two of Miller's 71 victories at WLC have come since 2008, and, in 17 seasons of conference competition, he mentored 49 First Team All-Conference selections and three Players of the Year. Three of his former players (Paul Nelson, Matt Kehl, Kaylan Gaines) are also enshrined into WLC's Athletics Hall of Fame.
Miller, who was hired in July 1998, had to wait two years for the excitement of Saturdays on the sideline while he built the program from scratch.
During the program's inaugural 2000 season, Miller and the Warriors tasted victory in their first outing: a 14-0 decision Sept. 2 at Rockford. After two seasons as an independent, the Warriors joined America's oldest collegiate athletic conference, the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association for six seasons. WLC began competition in the current Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference in 2008. Miller stepped back from coaching after the 2012 season before retaking the head coaching reins in 2014.
"We thank Dennis for his outstanding efforts in starting our football program from scratch," said Noon. "We also thank him for his leadership not only on the football field, but as an administrator in our department for the past 20-plus years. His impact on student-athletes and staff will forever be a part of Warriors athletics."
Before arriving at Wisconsin Lutheran, Miller forged his successful reputation at Aberdeen, South Dakota, where he resurrected a struggling Northern State program with nearly overnight success. His first season in 1986, Northern State finished with a 9-2 record (six more wins than the year before) and won the school's first conference championship ever in the newly formed league. For his efforts, Miller was named Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Coach of the Year. He would repeat the honor again in 1990 and 1992 as he guided his team to league titles. During his 12-year stint at NSU, Miller's football teams won 47 NSIC games – more than any other school. His program was nationally ranked six times.
Miller, whose last day on campus is Dec. 31, won 148 career games in 31 seasons as a collegiate head coach.