While BGSU women’s basketball defeating Central Michigan by 15 points on Saturday is sure to be the headline of the day, another major event took place at the Stroh Center during the victory — Alumni Day.
“Big day, alumni day. Important because they paved the way for us,” BGSU head coach Fred Chmiel said postgame.
Over 20 Bowling Green women’s basketball alumni were honored during halftime of the game on the Bill Frack Court.
The honorees were headlined by former Falcon head coaches Fran Voll and Curt Miller. It was an extra special day for Miller, as he was given a bobblehead day for the game’s promotion.
“It’s why this building was built, in large part to coach Voll and coach Miller; hats off to them,” Chmiel said. “It’s not everyday you get a bobblehead, so congratulations to coach Miller.”
Voll led the Orange and Brown for seven seasons from 1984 to 1991, and was inducted into the BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002 as the second-winningest head coach in program history.
He led the Falcons to a 144-60 overall record, 99-30 record in Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular season and tournament play, four NCAA Tournament appearances, four MAC Tournament championships and three MAC regular season championships.
Meanwhile, Curt Miller, who led the Falcons from 2001 to 2012 and was inducted into the BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017, is BGSU’s all-time winningest head coach and has the third-most wins in MAC history.
Miller’s list of achievements at Bowling Green are unmatched.
On top of winning 353 games at BG, Miller guided the Falcons to eight straight MAC Divisional titles and seven outright MAC regular season championships. He led the Orange and Brown to three NIT appearances (2008, 2009, 2012) and five NCAA Tournament appearances (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011), including a Sweet Sixteen run in 2017.
Miller was named MAC Coach of the Year a conference-record six times and was the fast coach in MAC history to both 200 and 250 overall wins.
On top of attending the game and being honored at halftime, the alumni attended the team’s pregame shoot around and meal, familiarizing themselves with the current Falcons.
“Seeing a bunch of [alumni] come back, it just shows how much this program meant to them,” sophomore guard Paige Kohler said postgame. “I mean, they laid the foundation for us in the past.”
Meeting and interacting with notable BGSU alumni had a motivational effect for Kohler and the Falcons.
“We have to make sure we do the same for them in the future and represent them in the Falcon way.”
