skip navigation

W.A. "GUS" MILLER - INDUCTEE #6

hall of fame fast fact:

At his PSHOF induction ceremony, Gus Miller pointed to a member of the crowd and said, "I'd like to introduce you to my first wife." After a brief pause, he added, "She's my only wife I've had, but I wanted to keep her on her toes." Recalling that incident, Bill Miller said, "Dad had a great sense of humor. He was one of a kind from the old school."

W.A. "Gus" Miller

W. A. “Gus” Miller, a no-nonsense coach, took the West Texas State basketball coaching job in 1942. Miller coached at Fort Sumner, N.M; Slaton High School; Trinidad; CO; and Texas Wesleyan.

In his 30 years of coaching, his teams notched more than 400 wins. 11 of his 14 teams posted winning records. His teams played at Madison Square Garden, Chicago Stadium, Miami’s Orange Bowl, San Francisco’s Cow Palace, and Philadelphia’s Convention Hall.

Miller’s basketball coaching record at WT was 176-128, which followed a successful five-year stint (106-19) at Texas Wesleyan.

In addition to his basketball coaching duties, Miller served as WT’s football coach during the war years. Later, Miller served as athletic director while continuing to coach. Then in 1957, Miller became head of WT’s physical education department until 1969.

Miller served as president of the NAIA. He was a member of the 1987 class of WT’s Hall of Champions.

Gus Miller died in 1992.