Curt Miller, after leading the IU women’s basketball team to their winningest season in program history last season, will resign from his coaching duties citing personal health and family reasons, IU Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Fred Glass announced today.
Miller will step down as head coach effective immediately.
“Curt Miller did an incredible job coaching this team, bringing us farther, faster than anyone could have reasonably expected,” Glass said in a team release. “He leaves the program in a very strong position and poised for much greater success. I respect his decision to resign, and I wish him well. The search for a permanent successor has already begun.”
In just two years as the head coach of the IU women’s basketball program, Miller led a team that had won just six games in the year prior to his hiring to a 21-13 record last season, tying the school record for wins.
Last season, the Hoosiers advanced to the postseason where they would advance to the quarterfinal of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. IU’s three WNIT wins last season means Miller will leave IU having tied the record for the most postseason career wins by a coach in IU history.
Miller ends his career at IU with an overall record of 32-32, 7-25 in the Big Ten. He was named a finalist for the 2014 WBCA National Coach of the Year award as he was named Regional Coach of the Year for Region 6 by his peers last season.
Miller and Glass met with the women’s basketball team and available staff Friday morning to break the news of the resignation and discuss future plans. Glass expects current assistant coaches to stay on staff and will ask the new head coach to consider retaining the current assistant coaches, but that decision will be up to the discretion of the new coach.
Associate Head Coach Curtis Lloyd will take over as interim Head Coach while Glass leads the search for IU’s next permanent head women’s basketball coach.
Since Miller arrived in Bloomington, attendance has increased by over 50 percent since 2012. The 2013-14 season set an attendance record for IU women's basketball averaging 2,708 fans per game to rank 35th nationally.
Miller’s first true recruiting class was one of the most highly successful women’s basketball classes in program history. Led by Second Team All-Big Ten and All-Big Ten Freshman guard Larryn Brooks, Miller’s group of freshmen accounted for 61.9 percent of IU’s scoring.
Coaching at IU was Miller’s self-described “dream job,” which is why he left his previous coaching job at Bowling Green.
Miller often described a six-year plan for building IU women’s basketball into a national powerhouse with the ability to regularly contend for conference and national championships. He leaves the Hoosiers after the second year in his six-year plan.
“…I will always cherish my time as a part of the Hoosier Nation,” Miller said in his letter of resignation. “I wish nothing but continued success to the players, coaches and the program.”
