Following Travis Steele’s departure, Coach Miller will lead the Musketeers

By Joe Clark, Sports Editor

Xavier has agreed to a six-year contract to hire former Musketeer and Arizona coach Sean Miller. 

Miller comes to Xavier after 12 years and 411 wins at Arizona. That was preceded by five years as head coach at Xavier, where he won 120 games. Miller started his tenure at Xavier in 2001, where he served as an assistant coach under Thad Matta.

“Xavier is thrilled to welcome Sean Miller and his family back to Victory Parkway,” Director of Athletics Greg Christopher said. “Sean is an elite college basketball coach and a proven winner who understands the expectations, traditions and values of Xavier and the BIG EAST Conference. He will bring a high level of energy and excitement to our program and he will do it the right way.”

Miller’s been to 11 NCAA Tournaments, including four Elite Eight and three Sweet Sixteen appearances. At Xavier, he steered the Musketeers to the Elite Eight in 2008 and Sweet Sixteen in 2009.

Miller also brings personal experience to the Big East, as he was a point guard at Pittsburgh when they were a member of the conference. 

Amy and I are humbled to be returning to Xavier,” Miller said. “Xavier and the BIG EAST Conference both hold special places in my heart. I enjoyed my experience competing at the highest level in the BIG EAST as a player and have always dreamed of being a head coach in the best basketball league in the country. Xavier has always done things the right way. This is an incredible opportunity for us to build on Xavier’s successful tradition and take the program to new heights.”

Miller does have looming NCAA sanctions from an investigation into his tenure at Arizona, stemming from the September 2017 federal investigation into corruption in college basketball. It is expected Miller will face some sort of suspension and/or fine depending on the punishment Arizona receives from the NCAA enforcement process later this summer.