Jim Miller

2000 Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame Inductee

While having seen a great deal of success as a wrestler, Jim Miller points to his years of coaching as his most rewarding.

“I enjoyed competing, but when I look back at my wrestling years, I can only recall jumping for joy a few times,” Miller said. “Now I jump for joy on a weekly basis because I’m so happy for one athlete or another.”

Coached in high school at East Waterloo by Dave Natvig and Bill Dotson, Jim is the first to admit that his high school record wasn’t particularly strong. Miller placed third in the state in 1971 and had a high school varsity record of 43-11.

It wasn’t until his sophomore year in college that everything started falling into place for Jim. At the University of Northern Iowa, Miller posted an impressive 128-22 record while winning two NCAA Division II Championships (1974, 1975) and also placing second and fourth in Division I those same years. Miller was twice selected for the East/West All-Star meet and was also a national freestyle runner-up in 1976.

“I was lucky—I was surrounded by good people throughout my wrestling career,” Miller recalls. He noted that it wasn’t until working with UNI coach Chuck Patten and UNI wrestler Mike McCready that he discovered what gives top wrestlers the winning edge. “I worked hard all through high school and even as a freshman in college, but I didn’t wrestle with much confidence. I didn’t understand what it took. Those guys showed me you can win when you go as hard as you can and wrestle with confidence.”

After graduating, Miller became an assistant coach at Riceville for a year, where he readily admits he learned a great deal from Dave Ripley. The following year (1978), Miller was named head coach at Charles City. In six years at Charles City, Miller’s teams compiled a 55-10 record while finishing second, third, and fourth at the state tournament. Individual state championships went to Kevin Wedeking (1979) and Mark Sindlinger (’81, ’82, ’83), while Tim Schultz won a National High School Freestyle Championship in 1978.

From Charles City, Miller returned to UNI, where he was the top assistant coach (1983–1991) until taking over the head coaching position at Wartburg College in Waverly. Miller has led his team to eight straight Iowa Conference championships, two Division III national titles, and five runner-up finishes. After the 2000 season, Miller’s Knight teams had a dual meet record of 148-20-1. He has coached 55 All-Americans at Wartburg, ten of whom were national champions.

Miller admits that he is very comfortable coaching in Division III and points to the prospect of becoming a national champion as a key factor in attracting the caliber of wrestler that has put Wartburg at the top of its class. “It’s all about attitude and work ethic. We want a kid that wants to be good, isn’t afraid to work hard, and wants to win a national championship,” he said.

The quality of the wrestlers Miller has produced hasn’t gone unnoticed. In 1979, he was named Iowa AAA Coach of the Year. Other awards include National Division III Coach of the Year in 1993, 1996, and 1999; 1989 National Assistant Coach of the Year; 1992 Rookie Coach of the Year from Amateur Wrestling News; and the 1999 Coaching Excellence Award from the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

Far from retiring, Miller notes that he would like to be remembered as someone who didn’t take anything for granted and worked hard. He added that he works hard to treat every wrestler the same. He stated that every wrestler is important to his program, whether or not they are a national champion.

“I’d like to be known as someone who wants to win… but someone who does it the right way—with integrity and class,” Miller said.

Jim was inducted into the Iowa State Hall of Fame in 2000 with John Roberts.