Tom Miller

Tom Miller (born November 7, 1948)

Teams coached: Cornell Big Red, Colorado Buffaloes, Army Cadets
Cornell record: 71-85 (.455)
Colorado record: 35-79 (.307)
Army record: 13-61 (.176)
Overall record: 119-225 (.346)

Career Accomplishments:

  • NCAA National Championships:  0
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances:  0
  • NIT Championships:  0
  • NIT Appearances:  0

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

1990-1993 Army
1986-1990 Colorado
1980-1986 Cornell
1975-1980 Indiana (asst)

Tom Miller Facts

  • Thomas E. Miller
  • Born November 7, 1948
  • Hometown: Westchester, Illinois
  • Alma Mater: United States Military Academy (BA, 1970)
  • Graduated from St. Joseph HS (IL) then enrolled in the US Military Academy at West Point, NY
    • Played basketball for Cadets under Hall of Fame head coach Bob Knight
  • Got into coaching in 1975, joining Knight‘s staff at Indiana – he left Army in 1971 to take over the Hoosiers’ program
    • Miller was part of three NCAA Tournaments in five seasons at IU, including the 1976 NCAA Championship team
    • Helped recruit future HOF player Isiah Thomas to Bloomington; Thomas attended Miller’s alma mater St. Joseph HS
  • Left in 1980 when he was hired to be the head coach at Cornell in the Ivy League
    • Taking over a program that hadn’t finished over .500 in over a decade prior to his arrival, Miller turned the Big Red around
    • Went 71-85 overall and finished his six-year tenure with three straight winning seasons
  • Hired away from Cornell in 1986, taking over as the new head coach at Colorado
    • Did not have much success with the Buffs, going just 35-79 in four seasons
      • Nearly reached the NCAA Tournament in 1990, advancing to the Big Eight Tournament final as the 8-seed
    • Similar to his mentor Knight, Miller got in hot water for reported physical abuse of players during practice
      • The school threatened to fire him in 1988 if he did not change his tactics; Miller was fired in March 1990
    • Miller and many of his former players were recognized in Boulder in Feb 2017, an event set-up by current coach Tad Boyle
  • Returned to West Point to coach the Cadets in 1990, his final collegiate head coaching role
    • Fired before the end of the 1992-93 season with a 13-61 overall record at Army
      • Again, outbursts and poor relationships with players were cited by the school in his dismissal

Tom Miller Coaching Tree