Aztecs Set to Name Miller AD

Fred Miller is expected to be named San Diego State’s new athletic director at a Tuesday morning press conference.

Miller, 54, was the athletic director at Cal State Long Beach from 1965 to 1971 and at Arizona State from 1971 to 1980. He is currently a health studies and physical education teacher at Arizona State.

Last week, the SDSU search committee recommended Miller as its top choice and Ray Nagel as second choice to SDSU President Thomas Day. Nagel, who is now a corporate executive officer for the Bank of Hawaii, said Sunday from Hawaii he is no longer a candidate for the position.

According to an SDSU source, a press conference has tentatively been scheduled for Tuesday morning.

“I intend to go over to San Diego on Tuesday to meet with Dr. Day,” Miller said Sunday from his home in Tempe, Ariz. “It’s a continuing situation, and, yes, I’m interested in the position. I don’t want to jeopardize the process now by talking about it any further.”

Miller was the athletic director at Arizona State when it moved from the Western Athletic Conference to the Pacific 10. SDSU has been in the WAC since 1978.

After the 1979 football season, Miller fired popular Arizona State Coach Frank Kush when Kush was being sued for allegedly slapping punter Kevin Rutledge. Miller was fired shortly after he fired Kush.

Since then, Miller has remained on the teaching staff at Arizona State.

“If he’s getting the position, he’ll do a very good job for San Diego State,” Nagel said. “He’s a very qualified guy and an excellent administrator. He’s extremely capable.”

Miller, a 1953 graduate of the University of Pacific, played for the Washington Redskins in 1955 and in the Canadian Football League in 1956 and 1957. He became an assistant football coach at Cal State Long Beach in 1958.

After three years as an assistant coach at Long Beach, Miller went to Indiana University to obtain his doctorate degree. He returned to Long Beach in 1965 as athletic director.

Mary Alice Hill, former SDSU athletic director, was fired Aug. 8 after she unsuccessfully attempted to fire seven members of the SDSU athletic department. Hill has filed a lawsuit against the university and has threatened to get a temporary restraining order against the school from hiring a new athletic director, claiming it would jeopardize her due process.

Bob Rinehart has served as the temporary athletic director since Aug. 22. Rinehart, who is expected to return to his former position as a biology professor at SDSU, expressed disappointment recently when he was not interviewed by the athletic director search committee.