F. Don Miller

Colonel Francis Don Miller spent over 25 years serving his country’s athletes and coaches, serving as executive director of the United States Olympic Committee from 1973-85 and president of the U.S. Olympic Foundation from 1986-96. Prior to his contributions to sports, Miller spent 26 years in the United States Army. He was born in Racine, Wisconsin, and won the 1943 national collegiate boxing title while studying at the University of Wisconsin. Miller went on to coach two Olympic Boxing teams before joining the Army. He was awarded the Silver Star and two Purple Hearts for his service in World War II, and served as the Army’s representative to the USOC. During his tenure as executive director, Miller helped keep the USOC alive financially in the wake of the Moscow boycott and a lack of corporate/public monetary contributions. The USOC budget grew tremendously under Miller’s leadership, ballooning from a quadrennial budget of $4 million his first year to $88 million at the time of his retirement. He also oversaw the opening of the first U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and led the relocation of the USOC headquarters from New York City in 1977. The IOC president, Juan Antonio Samaranch, presented Miller with the Olympic Order during the Olympic Games Los Angeles 1984. He passed away on Jan. 17, 1996, in Colorado Springs. The USOC named one of its athlete residence halls at the OTC after Miller in 1997.