In 30 seasons as head coach at Norfolk State University, Marty Miller led his alma mater to 12 postseason appearances and a combined record of 718-543-3 (.568). The winningest coach in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) history, Miller’s teams amassed a 584-374-3 (.608) record during their years in the league and captured 17 CIAA championships. He earned CIAA Coach of the Year honors 15 times.
Under Miller’s leadership, the Spartans posted three undefeated seasons and five seasons with just one loss in league play. Miller’s teams won more than two-thirds of their games 11 times, including a school-record 37 wins (37-15, 19-1 CIAA) in 1988. The Spartans .750 winning percentage (28-9-1) in 1987 remains the program record as well, and the 1995 team that finished 31-13 posted a 22-game winning streak.
Miller was baseball coach from 1973 through 2005 before serving as Norfolk State’s Athletic Director for 15 years, from 2004 through 2020. As AD, he was responsible for several major facilities improvements, including the installation of synthetic turf on the football field that provided other sports teams the ability to practice on a modern outdoor surface. Renovations to the weight room, softball field, track and tennis complex also took place under Miller’s watch.
A standout player for Norfolk State from 1965-68, Miller was the program’s first player to be recognized as an NCAA College Division All-American and was inducted to the Norfolk State Athletics Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach. In both his junior and senior seasons, he hit over .400 and was an All-CIAA baseball selection, leading the nation in doubles in 1968.
In 1997, Norfolk State opened a new baseball facility and honored Miller by naming it the Marty L. Miller Baseball Field.
Miller graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1969. An ROTC member in college, Miller was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army after he graduated. While on active duty, Miller was signed by the Minnesota Twins. Miller returned to his alma mater in 1972 as an assistant to baseball coach Bob Andrews. The next season, Miller inherited the head coaching job, which he held until early in the 2005 season.
Throughout his career, Miller has been recognized as an inductee into multiple Halls of Fame and in 2014, he was honored at the Virginia State Capitol and received resolutions from the Senate and House of Delegates for his induction into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and career accomplishments. In 2019, he was named the recipient of the Old Dominion University Bud Metheny Award, an award given annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to the game of baseball in Hampton Roads.
