From orange and brown to crimson and cream — Curt Miller will always have colors, just not Bowling Green’s.

As of Wednesday, Miller is considered the women’s basketball team’s former head coach after accepting a head coaching position at Indiana University.

While the announcement may have seemed bittersweet for everyone at the University, Athletic Director Greg Christopher and Simone Eli, Miller’s former player, said it came as no shock.

“When you’re a great coach, [there] comes great opportunities,” Eli said. “He’s getting that opportunity and fulfilling a dream that he’s always had, and I think everyone in the program respects that and understands that.”

Christopher said he is sad to see Miller go, but personally he is also thrilled for him.

“What was done with our women’s basketball program is remarkable, and the standard of excellence that has been established in more than a decade,” Christopher said. “This is a great fit for both Indiana and Curt, and I’m sure he’s going to do great things for Indiana basketball.”

Miller met with the Falcons early Wednesday morning to break the news.

Eli said the team was at first unaware as to the reasons of the meeting, but it soon became emotional once it was clear.

“We came in, he sat down, and said that there wasn’t a script for this,” Eli said. “You don’t know what to say to people who have become your family, who you have come to love and trust and see every single day.”

She said members of the team are handling Miller’s leave in their own ways, but they all feel it is well-deserved.

In Miller’s 11 years as head coach at the University, he built a program that includes eight consecutive MAC division titles and an overall record of 258-92, along with a conference record of 135-41.

The Falcons, with Miller, have made eight postseason appearances — five of them being NCAA Championship runs, including being the MAC’s first ever women’s basketball team to play in a “Sweet Sixteen” which came in 2007.

The other three postseasons were played in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, with their most recent appearance in 2012.

“Eleven years ago they took a chance on a 31-year-old — on a young, green coach — and gave me the opportunity in my first head coaching job,” Miller said in an IU press conference Wednesday. “With that said, I can’t be more excited about the next chapter.”

With Miller’s next chapter beginning in Indiana, BG will turn the page as well, starting its nationwide search for a new head coach.

Christopher said with Miller’s move developing during the last week, there is not a set timeline for the search, but he assured everyone that it was the athletic department’s highest priority.

Many speculate Associate Head Coach Jennifer Roos will be among the candidates for the position; however, Christopher has not discussed it with her.

“If she wants to be a candidate for this position, I fully expect her to be a finalist and in the mix,” Christopher said. “But she also needs the credibility of going through a complete search process.”

Roos has been leading the team in Miller’s absence, and Eli said she is a phenomenal coach.

“We trust that the athletic department is going to do what the team needs to be successful in the future,” Eli said.