The Forester community mourns the death of longtime men's basketball coach Charlie Miller, who passed away on July 18 after a battle with cancer.
Miller was Lake Forest's head men's basketball coach from 1979-90 and ranks third in program history with 81 victories. His 49 wins from 1982-86 were tied for the most of any four-year span in team annals until that record was broken in 2012. Miller also compiled a dual match record of 20-10 while coaching the Forester men's tennis team during his final three years at the College.
Miller's career in collegiate athletics started and ended at West Virginia Wesleyan. He helped lead the Bobcat men's basketball and track and field teams to conference titles as a standout athlete in the 1960s and served as an assistant coach for the men's basketball team in the 1970s. He returned to his alma mater as the head men's basketball coach in 1992, directed the team to its only NCAA Tournament berth in 2002, and retired in 2005. He was inducted into the West Virginia Wesleyan Hall of Fame in 2013. (West Virginia Wesleyan University Release)
He is survived by his wife Lexie Miller, two sons, Charles Jr. and A. Scott Miller, and four grandchildren. Notes of sympathy can be mailed to Lexie Miller, 993 Benjamins Way, Winston-Salem, NC 27103-5361.
"it has been a particularly difficult year in terms of the passing of important contributors to the history of Forester Athletics," began Vice President for Athletics and Career Advancement Jackie Slaats. "In addition to Charlie Miller, who I worked with closely when I began here as the head women's basketball coach, we recently lost hall of fame members Ralph Shively and John Erickson. All three individuals made a significant impact on numerous student-athletes and several staff members here at the College."
Shively passed away in September at the age of 97. He was a member of the Lake Forest College faculty from 1965 until 1987, serving as a professor and eventually the chair of the mathematics department. He was instrumental in helping Lake Forest gain entry into what is now the Midwest Conference and, after serving as the College's Faculty Athletic Representative from 1975-82, was the league's commissioner for 20 years (1984-2004). He was inducted into the Forester Athletics Hall of Fame (bio) in 1987.
Erickson, who like Miller was the Foresters' head men's basketball and tennis coach, died in March at age 92. After three years at the College, he spent the next 10 at the University of Wisconsin, serving as the Badgers' head coach from 1959-68. He was also the first general manager of the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks, the president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for 15 years, and an executive in the Big Eight Conference. Erickson was inducted into the Lake Forest College Athletics Hall of Fame (bio) in 1989.