Archie Miller, Dayton sign contract extension
By: Steven Wright – Sports Editor
University of Dayton men’s basketball head coach Archie Miller signed a contract extension through the 2018-2019 season, announced by the university Monday, March 24, in a press release.
The contract was originally signed in February, but Miller asked the university not to release the information until after the regular season.
“I’m very happy to be at a place that gave me a chance, 32 years old with no wins or losses, a little blind faith,” Miller said. “To be here right now is sort of the trust that [UD president] Dr. [Daniel] Curran and [UD Vice President/Director of Athletics Time Wabler] have. I’m very happy, and our staff loves it here. It’s a great place to be the coach; it’s a great place to work. The community is unlike any I’ve been in. I’m really excited.”
Wabler said discussions between the two began December 23, 2013. Both parties were said to have shown the same vision for the program’s future, but they decided to wait to sign the contract until later in the season.
“We have the opportunity of watching and working with Archie within these walls, you see how he approaches the business 365 days of the year and that decision was a no-brainer,” Wabler said. “It was very easy to stay with him.”
The reason behind the Monday announcement came about because of the decreased amount of disruption it could cause stemming from the growing publicity from the school’s first appearance in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament since 1984, according to Wabler.
“Archie didn’t want to take anything away from the team and his approach with the team,” he said. “It’s very similar to what we do when we’re introducing the players before game. It’s all about the team. All he wanted to focus on was the team…he didn’t want anything to disrupt it. But now there’s enough disruptions that it makes sense at this point and time to go ahead and announce versus waiting another couple weeks.”
In his third year as head coach at Dayton, Miller is 62-37 and has led UD to 25 wins this season, the fourth most by any team in school history.
Miller said Monday was the time to announce the extension to show off his solid grounding to be at Dayton as rampant coaching move rumors begin.
“We talked a long time about it,” Miller said. “It’s just good to make sure everybody knows that this is the place and this is the time right now. The deal didn’t just get talked about 24 hours ago; it’s been a long process. Like I said, I’m very fortunate to work with the people that I work with.”
Redshirt junior guard Jordan Sibert, who was recruited by Miller to The Ohio State University in 2011 and then again at Dayton after announcing his intention to transfer in April 2012, said he is excited to hear about Miller’s commitment.
“He deserves it,” Sibert said. “From the beginning to the end, he’s never lost faith in us. He’s always kept the same momentum telling us to stay together and be a true team and I just feel like he deserves it. He definitely deserves it.”
No further details of the contract were disclosed, and Wabler said everything included in it will play out over time.