Hall of Fame Profile: Rich Miller’s passion for diving produced numerous standouts during Hall of Fame career at UMaine
10/16/2026 1:44:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving, Hall of Fame
ORONO, Maine -- In 1972, Rich Miller received a call from Alan Switzer, who had recently been hired to lead the new swimming program at the University of Maine. He was looking for a diving coach.
Miller was a record-setting high school and college diver in his native California. And even though it meant relocating across the country, he accepted the job.
Miller's arrival established an immediate standard of diving excellence at UMaine. He spent 13 seasons in Orono, during which the Black Bears won 12 New England Collegiate Athletic Association individual diving titles and four women's crowns.
The UMaine men claimed regional team championships in 1976 and 1978, while the women won the New Englands in 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1984.
"I've never been around anybody else who was as good at what he did," said former longtime UMaine head coach Jeff Wren. "It was a joy to watch him work."
Miller's commitment and excellence are being recognized with his posthumous induction into the University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame. Dale Richard Miller succumbed to cancer in November 2023, at age 74, shortly after his enshrinement in the Maine Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame.
Miller's impact on diving at UMaine and in Greater Bangor was immediate. Roy Warren dominated the Eastern Seaboard and Yankee Conference ranks from 1974-77, while Rolf Olsen and Lance Graham also shone during that decade.
Teenager Kevin Wright was among Miller's divers in the early days of the Black Bear Diving Club, which Miller started in 1973.
"A lot of the local divers dove in the offseason for him," said Maine hall of famer Phil Emery, the former longtime swim coach at Bangor High School. "He was an incredible coach, the product tells you how good a coach he was, and he was a wonderful person, too."
Under Miller's tutelage, Wright won a national age-group title at 15 and was undefeated throughout his career at Bangor en route to setting all state and New England records and claiming three high school All-America honors.
"Rich really is the reason that I was able to do diving at all. He taught me everything I knew," said Wright, who attended Ohio State, where he logged two top-five NCAA championship finishes, before transferring to UMaine for his senior year.
Wright still holds Black Bear records for points scored in one-meter and three-meter diving, both in the six- and 11-dive formats. He is grateful for the guidance he received from Miller.
"He was a very talented guy and was willing to share a lot of his time and he really helped me to grow up," Wright said.
"I think a lot of folks really liked Rich, aside from the coaching and the diving, because he was such an approachable guy," he said.
Kevin Martin of Bangor was the last UMaine star coached by Miller. He won the one-meter diving at the Eastern Intercollegiate Championships in 1984 and 1985, setting a meet record in the latter.
Wright also formed a branch of Miller's coaching tree as he directed the diving program at Texas A&M for 17 years. Former Black Bear diver Dale Schultz went on to coach at the likes of Purdue, Arkansas and Florida.
"His legacy lived on through my divers," said Wright, who stayed in contact with Miller over the years.
Miller also did impressive work with the UMaine women's program. Tricia Ward won the New England one-meter title in 1977, Trish Redden took the gold medal in 1979 and Kathryn Driscoll was the 1981 champion.
Redden was the only UMaine diver elected as a team captain, which spoke to Miller's efforts to unify the divers with the swimmers.
"He recognized the importance of fostering the whole," Wren said.
Every diver Miller coached at UMaine scored at the New Englands, a feat at which Wren still marvels.
"One girl, she had never done it before, just thought it might be fun," he said. "She ended up getting 16th place, one point, at New Englands."
That outcome speaks to Miller's knowledge of diving, including the complexities of teaching and correcting it, and his patience. It also demonstrates his ability to motivate.
"He was a humble person. He didn't like the limelight and he didn't seek it out," said Corinna native Janet (Hartley) Miller, his wife of 45 years.
Miller reluctantly left UMaine in 1985 to return to California and help with his father's insurance business. He still occasionally worked with some divers in his spare time.
Miller's sons Ryan and Jordan were accomplished high school divers in California. He is also survived by son Jeffrey, daughter Jessica and nine grandchildren.
In 2000, UMaine presented the first annual Rich Miller Award for Commitment to Diving.
