Jane Miller Honored by Z Society with Pale Z Award
Charlottesville, Va. – During Wednesday evening’s Hoos Choice Awards, the University of Virginia’s Z Society presented its Pale Z Award to longtime UVA athletics administrator and former head coach Jane Miller. The Pale Z Award is the highest and rarest honor that the Z Society bestows on an individual.
Miller, a 35-year veteran of the athletics department, currently serves as the senior associate director of athletics for programs/senior woman administrator, a position she has held since 2001. She is the sport supervisor for men’s golf, volleyball, women’s soccer, field hockey, women’s basketball, baseball, men’s lacrosse and women’s lacrosse.
Miller came to Virginia in 1983 as head field hockey and women’s lacrosse coach. She was UVA’s head field hockey coach from 1983-91 and her teams compiled a record of 100-65-7 in nine seasons, making three trips to the NCAA championships and claiming two ACC regular-season titles.
She is the winningest coach in UVA’s women’s lacrosse history with a 12-year record of 144-44. She led UVA to six NCAA Final Four appearances and to two national championships (1991 and 1993). She was named NCAA Division I National Coach of the Year in 1991.
After resigning as head field hockey coach following the 1991 season, Miller took on the responsibilities of assistant athletic director and senior woman administrator in 1992. She remained UVA’s women’s lacrosse coach until 1995, when she ended her coaching career to assume full-time administrative duties.
The Z Society noted that Miller “devoted much of her life to advocating for the welfare of student-athletes, and opening the door for highly-qualified women to pursue a career in athletics. She is an established and well-respected administrator who listens, acts and has influenced the state of collegiate athletics for many years. Known for her high fives, Ms. Miller has been a friend and mentor to many in her time here. We thank her for her countless contributions to enhancing the lives of student-athletes, all while bettering our University. She is most deserving of this Award.”
Miller was elected to the Virginia chapter of the Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1996, the New England chapter of the Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2000, the U.S. Lacrosse National Hall of Fame and Oliver Ames High School Hall of Fame in 2003, and the Eastern Mass Chapter of the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame in July 2015.
A native of Easton, Mass., Miller graduated from Northeastern University in 1973 and was elected to her alma mater’s Hall of Fame in 1983. She was a three-sport standout at Northeastern in basketball, field hockey and lacrosse.
Miller joins the likes of Susan Davis, Nicole Eramo, Ernest Mead, Pat Lampkin and John Casteen as recipients of the Pale Z Award.
The Z Society is a philanthropic organization that was founded at the University of Virginia in 1892. It comprises outstanding student leaders who give time, talent, and financial contributions to groups and individuals that exemplify the spirit of the society and uphold the ideals of the university. Additionally, the Z Society encourages and recognizes excellence through a number of honorary dinners and academic awards. The organization’s membership chooses to remain anonymous because of the belief that service, when provided anonymously, provides a unique philanthropic opportunity.