Geoff Miller Announces Retirement as Director of Athletics & Recreation

TOWSON, Md. - Concluding an almost 24-year career at Goucher College, Director of Athletics Geoff Miller announced his retirement from his post Monday, effective March 16th, 2018.

The announcement marks the end of Miller's remarkable almost 38-year career in intercollegiate athletics at three institutions - Guilford (1980-1987), Washington College (1987-1994), and Goucher, where he has served as both the Director of Athletics and the Chair of the Department of Physical Education and Athletics since the Summer of 1994.

"I have been incredibly blessed to have worked at a place of this quality for close to 24 years and with the highly capable staff that I have been able to work with," said Miller. "I am so confident in that staff that I know great things are going to happen with our Goucher programs and teams in the very near future.

"While it feels right to close this chapter I feel certain that God has more in store for me and I am trying to trust Him to identify a new path for me and my family."

"I will always be thankful for the opportunity to work with Geoff, and to serve as his supervisor these past five years," said Bryan Coker, Ph.D., Goucher College's Vice President & Dean of Students. "My respect and appreciation for him are endless – he is a person of incredible integrity, and his work ethic is second to none. There's just no way to adequately thank him for his years of dedicated service to Goucher, and specifically, to our student-athletes and coaches.

"In many ways, Geoff is Goucher Athletics – his mark on this program is indelible and enduring."

In his time at Goucher, Miller spearheaded a transformation of the athletics department over the last 23-plus years, with the number of intercollegiate programs now at 21, and the number of student-athletes over 300.

Goucher has won numerous conference titles under Miller's direction and 15 teams have qualified for national tournament championship play during that time. In recent years, the equestrian team has qualified as one of 16 teams in their national championship for the past five seasons, including a program-best of fifth in 2012–13. Meanwhile, men's tennis won the Landmark Conference Championship in 2016 and 2017, advancing to the NCAA tournament.

Originally a part of the Capital Athletic Conference, Miller was one of the driving forces behind Goucher's involvement in the formation of the Landmark Conference in 2008, a now eight-member conference of private liberal arts Division III colleges and universities. Miller has served as the Chairman of the Landmark's Athletic Directors and on the NCAA Lacrosse Championships and Lacrosse Rules Committees, and remains chair of the USILA Division III All-America Committee.

Most importantly, the student-athletes in the Goucher Athletics programs have flourished in the classroom in Miller's time on-campus, as the department has consistently registered at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average.

Before coming to Goucher, Miller was the Director of Athletics at Washington College for seven years. From 1980-1987 he served in various athletic administration positions at Guilford College, while coaching the men's lacrosse team. In 1986, he was named Division III's lacrosse coach of the year, and later this year, he will be inducted into the North Carolina Chapter of the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

A 1976 graduate of Amherst College, Miller was a four-year participant on the football and lacrosse teams and won an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Award, which he used to earn his M.S. from the University of Massachusetts in 1979.

"I have always looked forward to coming to work and engaging with our curious, intelligent and talented student-athletes," continued Miller. "What I will miss most is the relationships that have developed over time. In many respects, Goucher is my extended family. I am encouraged by the knowledge that those relationships won't end just because I am not coming into the office every day."

Goucher College will launch a comprehensive national search for a new Athletic Director later this month.

--GOPHERS--