June 15, 2012

The Arizona Board of Regents today approved an extension of University of Arizona men’s basketball coach Sean Miller’s contract through the 2017 season.

Miller, 43, carries a career record of 169-82 in eight seasons overall as a head coach and is 69-35 in three seasons in Tucson. He guided the 2011 squad to a regular-season Pac-10 championship and has taken his last two Arizona teams into the postseason including an Elite Eight appearance in 2011. He was Pac-10 Coach of the Year that season.

“We’re pleased to have Sean Miller’s contract extended by the Arizona Board of Regents,” said UA Athletics Director Greg Byrne. “Our program has made tremendous strides under his leadership and the future looks exceptionally bright. This just re-emphasizes our commitment to Coach Miller and the University of Arizona men’s basketball program.”

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank President (Ann Weaver) Hart, Dr. (Eugene) Sander and Greg Byrne for their continued belief in me as the Head Basketball Coach at the University of Arizona,” Miller said. “During the last three years we have been able to lay a strong foundation for future success both in the classroom and on the basketball court. I look forward to the challenges that lie ahead as we work toward building our program into a national contender once again,” he said.

Miller’s incoming recruiting class was considered among the nation’s top three. He’ll be taking the 2012-13 Wildcats to the Bahamas for a six-day playing tour the second week in August.

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In Sean Miller’s first three seasons at Arizona:

• No other Pac-12 Team has more regular season conference wins than Arizona (36-18)
• Won the Pac-10 Championship in 2011
• Advanced to the 9^th Elite Eight in Arizona history
• Went 30-8 in 2010-11 season, only the 4^th Arizona team to win 30 games in a season
• Developed Derrick Williams, tied for the highest draft pick in Arizona history at #2 (tied with Mike Bibby)
• Have graduated every senior who has exhausted his eligibility at Arizona (7 for 7) and is 23 for 23 in his head coaching career
• Have put together back to back top 5 recruiting classes per Scout.com in 2011 and 2012
• Gave a $250,000 donation to team up with the very generous donation from Cole & Jeannie Davis to renovate the men’s basketball locker room, hallways and to build a strength and conditioning center in Richard Jefferson Gymnasium
• With his wife, Amy, has been very involved in the Tucson Community, especially with the Ronald McDonald House   

ARIZONA HEAD COACH SEAN MILLER . . . concluded his third season at the University of Arizona and his eighth overall as a college head coach with a record of 189-82 (.697) and 69-35 (.663) at Arizona ... In his eight-year career, Miller's teams have won 20 games six times and captured five regular-season or postseason tournament championships ... He guided UA to 30 wins and the 2011 Pac-10 regular season championship in a run that culminated in the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight ... He was named Pac-10 Conference and NABC District 20 Coach of the Year ... Appointed April 7, 2009, Miller came to Tucson after five successful years at Xavier University, where he amassed four 20-win seasons and four NCAA Tournament appearances ... His clubs won the three Atlantic 10 regular season championships (2007-09) and the 2006 Atlantic 10 postseason tournament title ... During his time at XU, the Musketeers won better than 71 percent of their conference games, including an .813 winning percentage (39-9) in his last three seasons ... Miller has made 16 trips to the postseason in his 19 seasons as a head, assistant or associate head coach (9 NCAA/7 NIT) and has an 9-5 (.643) NCAA Tournament record as a head coach ... He took two Xavier teams to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 (2008, 2009) with his 2008 club advancing to the West Regional final ... His 2007-08 team set a Xavier record for wins in a season with 30, helping him claim Atlantic 10 and NABC District 10 Coach-of-the-Year honors ... Since becoming a head coach, 22 of 23 players to complete eligibility under Miller have earned their degrees ... A standout guard for the University of Pittsburgh (1987-92), Miller was the Big East Freshman of the Year in 1988, won a gold medal on the 1991 U.S. World University Games team ...