| UNC Fencing Coach Ron Miller |
The University of North Carolina, an institution rich in both academic and athletic tradition, experienced
many changes during the last fifty-one 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 74 year-old Miller through the years at Carolina.
His teams 52 year record,1553 - 868 proves that many acquired the skills that helped them learn about
winning. Fourteen of Miller's students achieved All-American status many more than once. Five Carolina
fencers were U.S. National Fencing Team members, while two were Olympians. Miller was the Collegiate
Coach of the Year in 1983 and 1986. Miller has never been one to only 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 attacking and ripostes.
In 2016, Miller received the USFCA's Award of Merit for achievements and contributions to the national
sport of fencing. In Feb 2017, Miller was honored as a PRICELESS GEM in recognition of his outstanding
contributions to the University of North Carolina. That year he was also awarded the Jack Baker Award
for Service to USA Fencing. In November of 2017, Miller was presented with the North Carolina School
of Education's Alumni Achievement Award.
In 2018, the Carolina Women's Fencing Team won the 2018 ACC Women's Fencing Championship,
and in 2015, Miller was the ACC Women's Fencing Coach of the Year. In 2015, Gill Litynski claimed
the first ever ACC Women's Fencing Sabre Crown.
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 52nd 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.
The weekend of April 8, 2017, UNC Fencing Alumni, hosted by Mathew Cox and Rebecca Conley,
celebrated Coach Miller's 50th year as Carolina's Head Fencing Coach. There are several links to the
events on the home page.
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. Nine 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
three-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.
Miller stated, "the main significance of the success of UNC Fencing 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."
Coach Miller lives on 7.77 acres in Haw River, NC with artist wife Susun. He has three grown children;
Caroline, Joe and Kurt. Susun has two grown children; Myah and Grey. The Millers have seven
grandchildren.
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 47 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.
14 of Miller's fencers at Carolina have received All-America honors.
Five 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 1980.
Miller's 2004-05 team broke the 1000th win mark on December 5, 2004, the 1300th win mark Dec 2011,
the 1400th win January 24, 2015 and the 1500 mark in 2017 @Ohio State Elite Invitational Duals Nov 4 & 5
17th Place (tie) in NCAA Finals, 2011 (Combined Men and Women)
Career Win / Loss totals as of 2017 / 18: 1553 - 868
many changes during the last fifty-one 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 74 year-old Miller through the years at Carolina.
His teams 52 year record,1553 - 868 proves that many acquired the skills that helped them learn about
winning. Fourteen of Miller's students achieved All-American status many more than once. Five Carolina
fencers were U.S. National Fencing Team members, while two were Olympians. Miller was the Collegiate
Coach of the Year in 1983 and 1986. Miller has never been one to only 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 attacking and ripostes.
In 2016, Miller received the USFCA's Award of Merit for achievements and contributions to the national
sport of fencing. In Feb 2017, Miller was honored as a PRICELESS GEM in recognition of his outstanding
contributions to the University of North Carolina. That year he was also awarded the Jack Baker Award
for Service to USA Fencing. In November of 2017, Miller was presented with the North Carolina School
of Education's Alumni Achievement Award.
In 2018, the Carolina Women's Fencing Team won the 2018 ACC Women's Fencing Championship,
and in 2015, Miller was the ACC Women's Fencing Coach of the Year. In 2015, Gill Litynski claimed
the first ever ACC Women's Fencing Sabre Crown.
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 52nd 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.
The weekend of April 8, 2017, UNC Fencing Alumni, hosted by Mathew Cox and Rebecca Conley,
celebrated Coach Miller's 50th year as Carolina's Head Fencing Coach. There are several links to the
events on the home page.
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. Nine 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
three-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.
Miller stated, "the main significance of the success of UNC Fencing 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."
Coach Miller lives on 7.77 acres in Haw River, NC with artist wife Susun. He has three grown children;
Caroline, Joe and Kurt. Susun has two grown children; Myah and Grey. The Millers have seven
grandchildren.
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 47 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.
14 of Miller's fencers at Carolina have received All-America honors.
Five 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 1980.
Miller's 2004-05 team broke the 1000th win mark on December 5, 2004, the 1300th win mark Dec 2011,
the 1400th win January 24, 2015 and the 1500 mark in 2017 @Ohio State Elite Invitational Duals Nov 4 & 5
17th Place (tie) in NCAA Finals, 2011 (Combined Men and Women)
Career Win / Loss totals as of 2017 / 18: 1553 - 868
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| Coach Ron Miller 1967 - Present |
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| Web Design by Susun Miller 2004 – 2018 All Rights Reserved 2004 – 2018 No part of this website copy or imagery may be reproduced without the expressed written consent of Susun Miller |
| Coach Miller @2015 Summer Nationals San Jose |
Go HEELS!
Coach Ronald Miller was
awarded the 2016 Award of
Merit at the December
NORTH AMERICAN CUP in
Richmond VA, by The United
States Fencing Coaches
Association. "For Career
Contributions To The
Coaching And Teaching Of
Fencing", the plaque was
presented by the President
of the USFCA. Peter
Burchard.
awarded the 2016 Award of
Merit at the December
NORTH AMERICAN CUP in
Richmond VA, by The United
States Fencing Coaches
Association. "For Career
Contributions To The
Coaching And Teaching Of
Fencing", the plaque was
presented by the President
of the USFCA. Peter
Burchard.
Current Articles: |
UNC School of Medicine hosted medical simulations for
Carolina Athletics. Photo from Aug 10th, 2015.
Mini-Medical Experience Retreat for UNC Athletics
"Team Building in Healthcare is essential to optimal
patient outcomes. We will deliver a program that will
provide the same teamwork training that is provided to all
healthcare system employees, utilizing cases similar to
those that have been encountered by providers here at
UNC.
Our day will be structured utilizing the principles of
TeamSTEPPS®-an evidenced-based set of teamwork
tools, aimed at optimizing patient outcomes by improving
communication and teamwork skills among healthcare
professionals.
Carolina Athletics. Photo from Aug 10th, 2015.
Mini-Medical Experience Retreat for UNC Athletics
"Team Building in Healthcare is essential to optimal
patient outcomes. We will deliver a program that will
provide the same teamwork training that is provided to all
healthcare system employees, utilizing cases similar to
those that have been encountered by providers here at
UNC.
Our day will be structured utilizing the principles of
TeamSTEPPS®-an evidenced-based set of teamwork
tools, aimed at optimizing patient outcomes by improving
communication and teamwork skills among healthcare
professionals.
Coach Ron Miller was
announced recently as
the recipient of the 2017
Jack Baker Award for
Service to USA Fencing.
announced recently as
the recipient of the 2017
Jack Baker Award for
Service to USA Fencing.
MILLER HONORED AS
PRICELESS GEM
UNC fencing coach Ron
Miller, now in his 50th
season at the program's
helm, was honored
Wednesday evening as a
Priceless Gem in
recognition of his
outstanding contributions to
the University of North
Carolina. He received the
award prior to the men's
basketball game between
UNC and Louisville at the
Dean E. Smith Center.
Feb 22 2017
PRICELESS GEM
UNC fencing coach Ron
Miller, now in his 50th
season at the program's
helm, was honored
Wednesday evening as a
Priceless Gem in
recognition of his
outstanding contributions to
the University of North
Carolina. He received the
award prior to the men's
basketball game between
UNC and Louisville at the
Dean E. Smith Center.
Feb 22 2017
Nov 2017: For his
monumental record as an
educator and coach, the
University of North Carolina
School of Educations
presents Ronald Miller with
its Alumni Achievement
Award
Pictured with
Dr. Michael D. Priddy
President of the Alumni
Council of the School of
Education
monumental record as an
educator and coach, the
University of North Carolina
School of Educations
presents Ronald Miller with
its Alumni Achievement
Award
Pictured with
Dr. Michael D. Priddy
President of the Alumni
Council of the School of
Education
