Loras College Athletics

The 2021-22 wrestling season will mark the sixth as head coach at Loras College for TJ Miller.

As the leader of the wrestling program, Miller and the Duhawks are coming off the top-three most successful seasons in program history in back to back seasons. In 2019, Loras captured the National Runner-Up trophy at the NCAA Division III Tournament in Roanoke, Va.,  the first top-four finish in program history. In 2020, Loras won its first ever American Rivers Conference Championship, snapping a 27 year streak held by Coach Miller’s alma mater, Wartburg College.  Loras later went on to win its first ever Regional Championship and qualifying a record 8 wrestlers for the national championship.  With the cancellation of the national championship due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, Loras finished with a record eight NWCA All-Americans on the season. 

The Duhawks came back ready to compete for the 2020-21 season but saw competition modified yet again as the NCAA canceled the Division III National Championship. The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) held a national championship for the division and the Duhawks saw Shane Liegel (184) and Wyatt Wriedt (285) crowned national champions as well as nine total All-Americans. On the conference level, Liegel was voted the league's MVP and Jalen Schropp (141) was the Freshman of the Year. 

In six seasons as a head coach, Miller has coached 28 All-Americans, two national champions and 22 Scholar All-Americans. As a result, Miller has been named the Iowa Conference Coach of the Year once, the A-R-C Coach of the Year twice, the Regional Coach of the Year three times, NWCA Rookie Coach of the Year and NWCA National Coach of the Year.

Miller returns to his home state from Louisiana where he served as a high school physical education teacher and head wrestling coach at Holy Cross School. In his five seasons as a coach for the Tigers, Miller's teams won two Louisiana State Championships plus one runner-up finish. Fourteen of Miller's wrestlers were crowned state champions while another 16 produced runner-up finishes. In 2013, Miller was named the NWCA Louisiana Assistant Coach of the Year.

Miller's first coaching stop was at his alma mater, Wartburg College, where he served as a strength and conditioning coach and assistant wrestling coach for two seasons. In 2009, he was a part of the Knight's NCAA Division III National Championship team.

A 2008 graduate of Wartburg College, Miller wrestled for his father, the legendary Jim Miller, for four seasons and compiled an overall record of 131-9, including a national championship in 2007 at 197 pounds. His wrestling accomplishments include being honored as a three-time NCAA Division III All-American and a three-time Iowa Conference Champion. Miller was a part of three national championship teams in 2004, 2006 and 2008 as an athlete. His 131 wins rank eighth all-time at Wartburg.

In addition to his bachelor's degree, Miller also owns a leadership certification from Wartburg and an Olympic Lifting certification from the University of Northern Iowa.

Miller lives Dubuque with his wife, Allison, and daughters, Mckenna, Morrisyn, Maddyn and Maya.