TEMPE – Sun Devil director of track and field Greg Kraft has found the final addition to his talented coaching staff as a familiar face in Dion Miller returns to Arizona State as associate head coach.
"It's really been an exciting search for us," Kraft said. "The response from the coaching community both collegiately and from the professional ranks was extraordinary. As we sorted through all of the candidates, we were looking for someone with a special skillset and Dion Miller really separated himself."
Miller comes back to ASU to join assistant sprints coach Javonie Small after successful tenures in the SEC and Big 12, having coached the sprinters at his alma mater Texas Tech from 2007 until he headed east to Tuscaloosa to head the Alabama sprints group in 2015.
"ASU has always been near to my heart; It's always been home to me," Miller said. "Coach Kraft has been nothing but a great mentor for me, so ASU is definitely a special place for me and I want to thank Ray Anderson, Don Bocchi and coach Kraft for the opportunity to come back and continue my career here."
While with the Crimson Tide, Miller's sprinters helped the Alabama men win their first SEC Indoor title in school history in 2018, and the Tide was named as the USTFCCCA Program of the Year for its collective performance at the NCAA Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Championships across the 2017-18 season.
His SEC title with Alabama was his fourth in 12 years as an assistant as Miller and the Texas Tech Red Raider men took the Big 12 outdoor crown in 2014, and the Sun Devils won back-to-back women's Pac-12 titles in 2006 and 2007.
"I have to thank the University of Alabama for having me, athletic director Greg Byrne and head coach Dan Waters for a tremendous three years in Tuscaloosa," Miller said.
In his first stint with the Devils, Miller was on the staff that won the 2007 Women's NCAA Indoor and Outdoor titles. He worked closely with 2018 Sun Devil Sports Hall of Fame inductee and seven-time NCAA champion Jacquelyn Johnson, and recruited a handful of Sun Devil greats to Tempe, including 100-and 200-meter record-holder Charonda Williams.
"With the experience he's gained working in the three best conferences in the country, it's just prepared him more to come back here and lead our men's and women's sprinters," Kraft said.
Miller has been recognized as one of the best sprints coaches in the nation on several occasions as he has earned the USTFCCCA Regional Coach of the Year honor eight times, including four honors for the outdoor season while in Lubbock.
Before he arrived in Tempe back in 2004, Miller got his start as an assistant coach for the University of Washington.
"ASU has always been a perennial powerhouse, so it's great to come back and be a part of this great organization," Miller said. "The Pac-12 is one of the most competitive conferences in the NCAA, and having come from the SEC, I know what it's like to prepare for those challenges and I'm excited to get to work."
Miller graduated from Texas Tech in 1998 with a bachelor's in exercise and sports science. He earned 13 all-conference honors and qualified for the NCAA Championships eight times as a Red Raider sprinter.
Miller comes to Tempe with his wife Carol, and three children Alandrea, Kameron and Dionna.
"It's really been an exciting search for us," Kraft said. "The response from the coaching community both collegiately and from the professional ranks was extraordinary. As we sorted through all of the candidates, we were looking for someone with a special skillset and Dion Miller really separated himself."
Miller comes back to ASU to join assistant sprints coach Javonie Small after successful tenures in the SEC and Big 12, having coached the sprinters at his alma mater Texas Tech from 2007 until he headed east to Tuscaloosa to head the Alabama sprints group in 2015.
"ASU has always been near to my heart; It's always been home to me," Miller said. "Coach Kraft has been nothing but a great mentor for me, so ASU is definitely a special place for me and I want to thank Ray Anderson, Don Bocchi and coach Kraft for the opportunity to come back and continue my career here."
While with the Crimson Tide, Miller's sprinters helped the Alabama men win their first SEC Indoor title in school history in 2018, and the Tide was named as the USTFCCCA Program of the Year for its collective performance at the NCAA Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Championships across the 2017-18 season.
His SEC title with Alabama was his fourth in 12 years as an assistant as Miller and the Texas Tech Red Raider men took the Big 12 outdoor crown in 2014, and the Sun Devils won back-to-back women's Pac-12 titles in 2006 and 2007.
"I have to thank the University of Alabama for having me, athletic director Greg Byrne and head coach Dan Waters for a tremendous three years in Tuscaloosa," Miller said.
In his first stint with the Devils, Miller was on the staff that won the 2007 Women's NCAA Indoor and Outdoor titles. He worked closely with 2018 Sun Devil Sports Hall of Fame inductee and seven-time NCAA champion Jacquelyn Johnson, and recruited a handful of Sun Devil greats to Tempe, including 100-and 200-meter record-holder Charonda Williams.
"With the experience he's gained working in the three best conferences in the country, it's just prepared him more to come back here and lead our men's and women's sprinters," Kraft said.
Miller has been recognized as one of the best sprints coaches in the nation on several occasions as he has earned the USTFCCCA Regional Coach of the Year honor eight times, including four honors for the outdoor season while in Lubbock.
Before he arrived in Tempe back in 2004, Miller got his start as an assistant coach for the University of Washington.
"ASU has always been a perennial powerhouse, so it's great to come back and be a part of this great organization," Miller said. "The Pac-12 is one of the most competitive conferences in the NCAA, and having come from the SEC, I know what it's like to prepare for those challenges and I'm excited to get to work."
Miller graduated from Texas Tech in 1998 with a bachelor's in exercise and sports science. He earned 13 all-conference honors and qualified for the NCAA Championships eight times as a Red Raider sprinter.
Miller comes to Tempe with his wife Carol, and three children Alandrea, Kameron and Dionna.