Miller Honored As Priceless Gem
February 23, 2017 | Fencing
UNC fencing coach Ron Miller, now in his 50th season at the program's helm, was honored Wednesday evening as a Priceless Gem in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the University of North Carolina. He received the award prior to the men's basketball game between UNC and Louisville at the Dean E. Smith Center.
Following is the text of the award:
Be it resolved that during a 50-year tenure as head coach of the University of North Carolina fencing program, Ron Miller has been a champion for the sport, an ambassador for the University and a mentor to thousands of collegiate student-athletes. His teams have achieved competitive success while upholding a tradition of academic excellence.
The only coach that the Tar Heel men's and women's varsity fencing programs have ever known, Miller has built Carolina Fencing into one of the sport's pillars. His fencers have earned numerous All-America honors and two have gone on to compete in the Olympics. In each year of his tenure, at least one Tar Heel has qualified for NCAA Championship competition.
A two-time national coach of the year, Miller was the 2015 Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Fencing Coach of the Year, honored for the inaugural season of women's fencing as an ACC sport. In addition to his leadership at UNC and within the conference, he has served the sport in many roles within the U.S. Fencing Association and NCAA fencing. In 2016, Miller received the Award of Merit from the U.S. Fencing Coaches Association, recognizing career contributions to the coaching and teaching of fencing.
Through innumerable hours of coaching and counseling, Miller has established himself as the heart, soul and touchstone of Carolina Fencing. In recognition of his many accomplishments within the UNC program and his broader impact on our University, our community, and the sport of fencing, we, the undersigned, so declare Ron Miller to be a Priceless Gem of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on this date, the 22nd of February, 2017.