A college athletic director oversees all aspects of an athletics program, including the hiring of coaches and administrators, scheduling, promoting programs and events, constructing budgets, fund raising and so much more. Over the next few weeks, we will meet the 14 Athletic Directors in the Pacific West Conference.
Today, let's learn more about Dr. Bethany Miller, whose official title is Associate Vice President for Student Development/Senior Director of Athletics. Dr. Miller has spent most of her adult life at Biola, first as a student-athlete and team captain of the basketball team, 1999-2003. She earned her Master's in Physical Therapy at CS Northridge and her doctorate in the same at the University of Montana.
Bethany was the head women's basketball coach for the Eagles before becoming A.D. in 2016. She continued her education when she enrolled in the MA in Spiritual Formation & Soul Care at Biola's Talbot School of Theology. She completed that degree in 2021.
*What was your first job in college athletics?
My first job in college athletics was as a women's basketball assistant under an interim head coach. I was one year out of competing as a WBB student-athlete and working on campus full-time as a transfer admissions counselor. When a new head coach was hired, Coach Ken Crawford, he hired me as his lead assistant which was a position I held for the next six years, and fell in love with coaching and working with college student-athletes.
*When did you first realize that you wanted to be an A.D?
I never knew I wanted to be an AD until I was asked to consider the role when I was head WBB coach/assistant AD and institutionally we were starting the application for NCAA Division II membership. About a year into being the athletic director, after experiencing what it was like to accomplish excellent work with such a talented team of administrators and coaches - I knew it was a good fit, and I have been grateful to have the opportunity.
*Who have been some of your mentors during your career and what have you learned from them?
Dr. André Stephens, president of Fresno Pacific University, hired me for my first job after graduating from Biola and has been a consistent mentor throughout my career. When I was considering whether to pursue the athletic director position, I told him I wasn't sure I had the ability to be successful at that level of leadership. He told me that leading is not about me, it is about the team around me. He asked whether we have the team in Biola Athletics to succeed, and I told him absolutely. Dr. Stephens has modeled team and people-focused leadership throughout his career and I have learned so much about team trust, having fun, and doing great work with others - it is a joy to have him as a mentor in my life.
*What advice would you give someone interested in a career in college athletics administration?
Find someone in athletics administration that you respect and want to learn from and ask to work for, intern, or connect with them. And find someone who can help you develop your internal and external self-awareness. Developing relationships with people who are leading in ways we want to emulate, being challenged in our own growth, and learning who God has made us to be are all important not only in this career, but in thriving in wherever God calls us.
*Favorite Binge-Worthy Show - (Favorite Book instead? I don't watch much TV)
The Lord is my Courage by KJ Ramsey or Seeking God by Esther de Waal
*Favorite Fast Food
Chipotle
*Your Own Greatest Sporting Moment as a Coach or Player?
My first season as head coach our team upset Lee University in the national championship tournament. They were the #7 seed and we an at-large unranked team stepping into the tournament. The focus, joy, and trust the team had for one another and our coaching staff created a space where everyone was in rhythm, competed to their potential, and considered one another as more important than themselves. We had three student-athletes with food poisoning, two of them were starters, and I saw student-athletes caring for these students who played in beautiful ways. We went on to beat #10 Langston in the same way and the experience of that tournament and the feeling of leading that group of student-athletes is a beautiful memory that will always be with me.
*Your Favorite Team or Player of All-Time?
My favorite team is our Biola Athletics staff. We work hard together, love each other and our students, and confront challenges we face with trust, care, and humility.