NORFOLK, Va. - Marty L. Miller completed his final day as NSU's Director of Athletics on Tuesday.

Miller, who has been associated with NSU as a student-athlete, coach and administrator for nearly 50 years, is moving into a new senior administrative role across campus on Dr. Javaune Adams-Gaston's leadership team. 

At more than 15 years, Miller had the longest tenure of any AD in Spartan history. A seven-time Hall of Famer, Miller's years as AD have been marked by championships on the field, unprecedented success in the classroom and numerous facility upgrades that have benefited hundreds of NSU student-athletes since he assumed the role in December 2004.

Below, read more on Miller's career in athletics, dating to his days as an All-American baseball player. This article appeared earlier this year in "Behold" Magazine.

FOR MARTY MILLER, NSU HAS BEEN A HOME RUN
People often ask Marty Miller why he has remained at Norfolk State so long. To the Spartans' Director of Athletics, whose professional career spans nearly 50 years, the answer is simple: He is still trying to repay a debt.

After a 30-plus year coaching career and now 15 years into his decorated tenure as AD, it's easy to forget how the love affair with NSU started for the Danville, Virginia native. Recruited to play baseball by legendary coach and administrator Joseph Echols, Miller left the town he affectionately refers to as "The Big 'D'" in 1964.

"My father gave me $20. I needed $7 for the Greyhound bus, so that left me $13 to go to college," said Miller, who initially received a combination of financial aid to attend NSU. "The University found a way to enroll me when I didn't have the money."

An aunt who lived nearby and the presence of Echols made Miller's transition smoother. Once baseball workouts began, Miller felt at home.

"I wanted to go home after two weeks, but I didn't have the money to buy a bus ticket back," Miller said with a laugh. "But NSU was the ideal fit. The people here felt a lot like family."

Miller flourished on and off the field. A two-time All-CIAA player, Miller became the University's first NCAA College Division (now known as Division II) All-American in baseball as a senior. He also found his place outside of baseball. A mathematics major, he served as an admissions office student ambassador and statistician for the football and basketball teams.

 
Miller also was a cadet commander in the ROTC program, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army after graduating in 1969. After a year and a half on duty in Fort Bliss, Texas, Miller signed a baseball contract with the Minnesota Twins. He rubbed elbows with the likes of Rod Carew before his release in the spring of 1971.

Miller returned to Norfolk, where he was working in the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority when Director of Athletics Bill Archie had a conundrum. Spartan baseball coach Bob Andrews had resigned two weeks before the season was to start, leaving NSU without a coach.

"Archie asked if I would take over for two weeks while he found a coach," Miller said. "After two weeks, I noticed we still didn't have a coach, and Archie told me he stopped looking. I was his guy."

The Spartans struggled at first. But in 1974, Miller's second season, they won the CIAA title. The rest, as they say, is history.

"I didn't like coaching at first," Miller said. "I had a difficult time understanding why some players couldn't do things like I thought they should. But we started winning, and it created an excitement within me."

And win, they did. Miller's teams captured 17 CIAA championships and made 12 postseason appearances.

For the first 22 years of his coaching tenure, he didn't have an assistant coach. That meant doing all the team laundry, cutting the grass and recruiting – often on his own dime. He did it all while working a second job on campus to supplement his coaching salary. At various times, he served as work-study coordinator, loan coordinator, assistant director of financial aid, and then director.

Nonetheless, Miller turned NSU into a baseball juggernaut. Twenty-two of his players reached the professional ranks. Miller also had the opportunity to coach his son, Marty Eric, from 1991-96. Miller recalls those teams and players fondly.

"When Terry Bradshaw called me to tell me he had been called up to the major leagues, I realized how important my work here was," Miller said. "I was proud of the players because many were not heavily recruited, but they must have believed in me."

"I think his legacy will be all of the former players who went on to be successful men," said former player Claudell Clark, who later served as Miller's assistant and eventually took over as head coach when Miller stepped aside. "We were able to take his lessons on the field and translate them into being husbands, fathers and career men."


NSU played primarily at Barraud Park in Norfolk during his coaching days before the University opened an on-campus stadium in 1997 named – What else? – Marty L. Miller Field. The wins kept coming into the 21^st century. Miller won his 700^th game in 2003.

The following year, history repeated itself. A change had been made in the athletics department leadership, and then-NSU President Marie V. McDemmond asked Miller to take over as director.

"It was one of the toughest decisions of my life … I'd been on the baseball field since I was 5. But Dr. McDemmond said 'your school needs you,' and I didn't have any more reservations," Miller said. "I credit her for having the insight to see my abilities when I couldn't. It's been one of the best decisions I've made."

NSU has won 26 MEAC team championships and 10 conference all-sports awards during his tenure as AD, made countless facility upgrades and scored an historic 15-over-2 NCAA Basketball Tournament upset in 2012. But the statistic he's most proud of is the jump in the department's NCAA graduation success rate, which has risen from 40% to 75% on his watch.

Earlier this academic year, Miller became the first person to be inducted into the NSU Athletics Hall of Fame for a second time. A 2003 inductee for his playing exploits, Miller was honored again in September of 2019 for his coaching and administrative career. He has been inducted into seven halls of fame.

Not bad for that boy from the "Big D" with the $20 to his name.

Miller said: "My career has far exceeded my expectations. I've always thought to myself, if I'm capable of improving the University, I owe it to NSU to be here."