Bemidji State University Director of Athletics Dr. Rick Goeb announced the hiring of Ekren Miller as the university’s new head men’s golf coach Aug. 21, 2010.

“Ekren Miller is a former Bemidji State golfer and he comes back as an accomplished player with a lot of knowledge,” said Goeb. “He is young, has a lot of enthusiasm and he is a very intelligent person.   It is going to be fun to watch Ekren take over this program because he is the type of person that is going to help move that program.”

“He’s been part of conference championship teams, knows what it takes to achieve success and will strive to continually get better.”
 
Goeb added, “He’s got extremely big shoes to fill following Don Niskanen, but Nisky left the program in incredible shape.”

“It’s really a privilege to be asked to be the men’s golf coach,” commented Miller. “I was a member of the Bemidji State golf team and played for Bemidji High School.  It means a lot to have grown up in Bemidji and be able to give back and invest in the community that helped me to become who I am.”

Miller added, “After seeing the quality and the potential of the players here I am really excited to get started.”

Although this is Miller’s first head coaching position, he is no stranger to the game of golf, recruiting, leadership or instruction.

Miller comes to Bemidji State after an eight-month stint as a recruitment coordinator for Pioneers, a non-profit overseas Christian organization.  In addition to traveling to represent the organization at schools and conferences, he acted as an intercultural coach and was a mentor to those preparing to move overseas.

Miller also spent four years (2004-08) in the People’s Republic of China teaching oral English and business writing at Hengyang Normal University, Hunan Province.    As a university instructor, he designed a curriculum for more than 200 Chinese students each semester, served as a tutor, implemented a personal fund-raising plan and worked with Chinese administration.

Following his time in China, Miller returned to Bemidji and acted as the business manager for the Sen Lin Hu Chinese immersion camp and Concordia Language Village where he managed the village store and gift shop, coordinated transportation, taught Mandarin Chinese to children from the age of eight to 17 and oversaw the expenditures of the village.

In addition, Miller spent nearly eight years in golf course operations with seven years of service at the Bemidji Town and Country Club.

Miller was a member of the Bemidji State men’s golf team from 1998-2001.  During that span the Beavers captured three Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Championships and had two individual conference champions.  He was also a member of the Bemidji High School boy’s golf team that won the 1997 Minnesota State High School Class AA title.

The selection of Miller fills a coaching void left by Don Niskanen, who stepped away from the program at the conclusion of the 2010 spring season after 17 years.  During Niskanen’s tenure, the BSU men’s golf team captured four conference titles, finished as the league’s runner-up six times and had 35 players earn all-conference honors.

Miller graduated magna cum laude from BSU in 2003 with Bachelor of Art degrees in both philosophy and Spanish.  He earned a Master of Arts degree in intercultural studies from Wheaton College in 2007.

Miller and his wife Kari (Kantack), who also works within the MnSCU system as the Director of Admissions at Northwest Technical College, were married in July and reside in Bemidji.