Tony Miller

Tony Miller is in his first season as the head coach of the Purdue track & field and cross country program and his second season at Purdue, after serving as associate head coach for the Boilermakers in 2023-24.   Miller brings nearly 20 years of coaching experience to his new role as head coach. Previously, he was at Louisville for four seasons where he was recognized as the 2022-23 USTFCCCA Southeast Region Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year indoors.   “Tony Miller’s coaching credentials and record of accomplishments through his previous work at Louisville, SMU and North Texas are truly exceptional,” said Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Bobinski. “After witnessing his impact as an assistant to retiring coach Norbert Elliott this past year, we’re excited for the leadership Tony will provide as head coach to Purdue’s track & field and cross country programs. His experience in guiding student-athletes to the pinnacle of the sport, running and competing on the national stage at NCAA Championships, will serve our Boilermaker student-athletes well as we continue to elevate our programs.”   In his first year in West Lafayette as Associate Head Coach, Miller helped guide the Boilermakers to seven All-America honors and a trio of individual outdoor Big Ten titles. His sprinters broke three school records, one that had stood for 52 years and another for 20 years. Miller helped both the men’s and women’s teams to improvements in the Big Ten outdoor standings from a season ago, including a six-place rise for the men, moving the Boilermakers into the top half of the conference.   “I want to thank Mike Bobinski and our sport administrator, Associate Athletics Director Calvin Williams, for this opportunity,” Miller said. “I am very excited and honored to lead the Purdue track & field and cross country programs. The future is incredibly bright for the Boilermakers, and I know we will be able to achieve great things. Thank you to all of my student-athletes, coaches and mentors who have helped me get to this point in my career. I can’t wait to see everything we will accomplish here at Purdue!”   Last season, Miller primarily worked with the Boilermaker sprinters and hurdlers and served as recruiting coordinator. Under Miller’s coaching, graduate student Cameron Miller had one of the best seasons in school history, breaking both 200-meter records en route to two All-America accolades, first team indoors and second team outdoors. His indoor mark of 20.40 was the third-fastest in the world at the time and bested a 20-year record atop Purdue’s top-10 list. He took bronze at the Big Ten Championships and advanced to the final at the NCAA Championships. Outdoors, Miller broke the school record twice, topping a mark that had stood since 1972. He won a Big Ten title and again reached the national championships to earn his second All-America award of the season.   Under Coach Miller’s tutelage in 2023-24, the Boilermakers also broke an eight-year-old record in the men’s 4x400 relay. His sprinters achieved numerous other record-book times along with top-eight podium finishes at the Big Ten Championships.   Miller arrived at Purdue after serving as an assistant coach at Louisville. In 2022-23, he helped guide two athletes and three relays to the NCAA Outdoor Championships and two individuals qualified for the indoor national championships. Miller’s NCAA qualifiers totaled three first team All-America honors, in the 200-meter and 4x100 relay outdoors and the 200m indoors. Nine of Miller’s athletes set school records outdoors and five indoor records fell under his watch.   In 2021-22, a second team All-America accolade capped the season that saw Miller’s runners earn three All-ACC accolades and two medals, one of them gold, outdoors along with a 60m ACC title and All-America distinction indoors. Five school records were set and one of Miller’s runners was selected to race at the U.S. Track & Field Championships in the 100m.   The 2020-21 campaign featured a first team All-America award in the 60m indoors thanks to a school-record time. This came after an All-ACC award indoors in 2020 and another two team records.   Miller came to Louisville from SMU, where he was an assistant coach from 2006-19. The 2018-19 season saw Miller’s Mustangs break seven school records, win three conference titles and qualify four to the NCAA regionals and one to the NCAA Championships. A year before that, in 2017-18, Miller led his runners to a conference championship, two regional qualifiers and one NCAA Championships berth along with four school records. In 2016-17, the Mustangs broke one school record, won two gold medals at the conference meet and sent two to the NCAA regionals.   At North Texas from 2004-06, Miller helped lead the Mean Green to their first Sun Belt Conference women’s championship and coached his athletes to eight all-conference honors.   Miller is a 1996 graduate of Baylor University with a bachelor degree in business administration-marketing. He received a U.S. Track & Field Level II coaching certification in 2006.