By Ron Good
Amateur Wrestling News
Waverly, Iowa is located 20 miles north of Waterloo and nearly smack dab in the middle of one of the country’s elite wrestling states. It’s the home of Wartburg College, the defending Division III national champions.
The Wartburg Knights head coach is the likeable and successful Jim Miller, himself a native of Waterloo. In his 16th year as head coach, Miller is this year’s recipient of the annual Amateur Wrestling News Man of the Year award.
As head coach at perennial powerhouse Wartburg, Miller has guided his boys to multiple national titles as well as continuing a classic rivalry with Division III nemesis Augsburg College of Minnesota.
“It’s been awesome,” said Miller of his many battles with Augsburg College and head coach Jeff Swenson.
“The rivalry has helped both of us get better. If you look at the teams winning the championship back in the mid-90’s, the point totals were not even close to what they are now. We’ve pushed each other to where it almost takes 10 guys to win it.”
Miller says there is great respect between the schools and that the classic battles have drawn national interest.
“There is no hatred between us,” Miller said. “I think its one of the top 10 rivalries in America at any level.”
Under Miller, the Knights have won their share of national team titles. In fact, the program has placed first or second at the national tournament 12 of the past 14 years. Last March they won their fifth national team title since 1996 and also claimed the schools 15th consecutive Iowa Conference title. Wartburg has an incredible run through the tough Iowa Conference reeling off a remarkable string of 115 consecutive dual meet wins within the conference.
Out of Waterloo East High School and Northern Iowa University, Miller came to Wartburg in 1991 and coached his team to an eighth place NCAA finish. Wartburg had finished a distant 12th and 40th at the two previous NCAA tournaments. That squad also went 17-3 in duals and for his efforts, Miller was named National “Rookie Coach of the Year” by AWN in 1992. To date, his teams have compiled an amazing overall mark of 286-28-3.
Miller’s job is no walk in the park. He must recruit against Division I powers Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, newly crowned Junior College champion Iowa Central as well as several other college programs in the state.
“It’s always difficult, “Miller said. “But then we have no choice.”
As a graduate of Northern Iowa, Miller enjoyed an outstanding mat career, winning the NCAA Div. II title in 1974 and 1975 as well as going on to place second and fourth in the Division I tournament at 134 pounds.
At Wartburg, Miller has coached 79 Iowa Conference individual champions, 98 NCAA Division III All-Americans and 22 national champions in his tenure.
His start in wrestling is something he won’t forget. Miller’s brother Bob was a junior high wrestler in Waterloo and seven years older.
“My earliest memory was first grade,” Jim said. “I had a note come in at school and my teacher said that my dad was picking me up to go to the dentist. I remember thinking, ‘no way.’ When I got in the car I found out that we were going to watch my brother wrestle. Dad did that to get me out of school. It was totally awesome. My brother won the meet and I saw how my dad reacted and how the crowd reacted. I was hooked.”
Miller tipped the scales at 100 pounds in the eighth grade and it didn’t take him long to figure out that if you were a wrestler, you were someone special in Iowa.
“It was a big deal,” Miller said. “I was lucky I grew up in Waterloo. It was the Mecca of wrestling. We had the great Waterloo Courier writer Russ Smith. He put wrestling on the front page. And Waterloo East and West ruled the roost back then. I got to watch all the big tournaments and see our state legend Dan Gable who wrestled for West. He was five years older but he intensified things even more for me. I was fortunate to grow up in that kind of environment.”
Ask what he enjoys most about coaching?
“Oh, it’s the kids,” Miller says. “Helping them reach their goals. They keep me young. I feel the same today as I did 20 years ago. It never gets old.”
With a dream job and close to his home town, Miller knows he’s a lucky man.
“I have been blessed to be in wrestling “and at this place. They value the sport here. Wartburg has been good to me.”
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