by John Sorce
john.sorce@theleaven.org
LEAVENWORTH — The head of the University of Saint Mary athletic department here has been recognized by his peers for the second time.
Rob Miller, vice president of athletics, was honored with the 2024-25 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Athletic Director of the Year on June 13.
“I don’t get too fired up about stuff, but it’s always nice to hear about it,” said Miller, who also took home the award in 2017. “I appreciate it very much whenever you’re acknowledged by your peers, so that’s cool as well.”
Miller was at the helm for a year that saw a lot of success for Spire athletic programs. The University of Saint Mary claimed conference titles in men’s and women’s cross-country, men’s basketball, women’s indoor track and field, men’s wrestling, competitive dance and competitive cheer. The women’s wrestling team also won the regular season championship.
Saint Mary finished fourth in the 2024-25 KCAC Commissioner’s Cup standings and 19th in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Learfield Directors’ Cup standings, the best finish out of any conference school.
Miller deflected a lot of the credit toward the department’s coaches, who help shape the vision for each athletic program.
“The current staff that we have is awesome,” Miller said. “They are the reason this kind of award is won. Our coaches understand the importance of finding the right fit for a place like Saint Mary and teaching our kids that winning is a side effect of doing things the right way. Our coaches have really embraced that concept and I couldn’t be prouder of them and how they conduct themselves.”
Miller became the school’s athletic director in 2006 and was the baseball coach until stepping down after the 2020 season. He coached baseball for 35 years and said there were things he learned as a coach that he uses in his current role.
“You get to see things from different perspectives as a coach,” Miller said. “Baseball teaches patience because the sport can be a grind to get through a season, and being an AD is a lot of the same thing. You need to be patient with people, and you need to grind through each season with all the different aspects of the job.”
A big part of how the athletic program goes about its daily tasks reflects the NAIA’s Champions of Character program, which highlights the five core values of integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership.
“Champions of Character is a huge component of what we do,” Miller said. “We want to provide optimal transformational experiences for our student-athletes. Obviously, we want them to have academic success so they can graduate and find employment. But we ultimately want them to be good husbands and fathers, wives and mothers and reach their God-given potential.”
“As USM’s vice president of athletics, Rob personifies the five core values of the NAIA’s Champions of Character program,” said University president Sister Diane Steele. “Our teams routinely earn Five-Star Champions of Character honors, and Rob insists on and nurtures integrity and sportsmanship among student-athletes.”
The Spires had seven teams named Team of Character for their sport in the conference: women’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s bowling, women’s flag football and women’s outdoor track and field.
Looking ahead, Miller hopes to see the Spires build off their success, both on and off the field.
“We had a very successful ’24-’25 season and we just want to improve upon that,” Miller said. “We achieved some high marks academically, comparatively speaking to the past, and we want to continue to do that as well. We want to focus on improving our weaknesses and building on our strengths so we can produce the best that we can possibly produce.”
