Northeastern University Athletics

William J. Miller was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his accomplishments in the sport of rowing.

Miller captained the 1969 Northeastern crew before embarking on a distinguished career as an international oarsman and collegiate crew coach. Though he had never rowed previously in a racing shell, his progress was steady. He made the first freshman boat and the second varsity in his sophomore year. As a junior he made the varsity and as a senior was elected captain. Not one of his four Northeastern shells experienced losing regatta seasons, and all four were finalists at the Eastern Sprints. Miller was a member of six United States national teams, rowing in boats varying from pairs to eights. In 1972, he was a member of the US Olympic rowing team competing in a coxed four. In 1973 he and four of the Northeastern alumni oarsmen won the Prince Challenge Cup for coxed fours at the Henley Royal Regatta setting a record that stands today.

He joined the collegiate crew coaching ranks as the MIT lightweight coach in 1973 and after six successful seasons moved upstream in 1979 to become the coach of heavyweight crew at Boston University. In 1980, the BU crew program was threatened with extinction for financial reasons. It was Miller, through persistence and inventiveness, who managed to spearhead a fund drive that saved the program. A year later, he justified the resurrection at BU, by leading the Terriers for the first time into the finals of both the Eastern Sprints and IRA Regattas.