A Conversation with Coastal Carolina’s New Athletic Director, Chance Miller

great position to learn from him and learn learn what it was going to be like to sit in that chair um and a lot of those experiences I was able to have um have really helped me in this role here at the early onset well that's um that that's fascinating to me because like I said I I I was around the University of South Carolina and went through many many years of living there of the growing process there you know we um we we we were not very competitive at all in the SEC at that that time in football basketball or anything um uh so you know it um I've seen how much the program there's grown over those years and that kind of brings me an excitement about you coming here because uh and I talked to a lot of people out in the community and they they they feel the same way is that you'll bring that Spirit here as well and it will only um I guess continue to help us to grow in the direction that the university seems to want to go um you know with the building projects that's going on right now and the emphasis on student Athletics and you know we've got we got an indoor practice facility I saw somebody the other day out in the community they said what in the world do we need an indoor practice facility at Coastal for you know like like we shouldn't be as good or better than any other university that we're playing in our conferences or out of conference you know I it was really I just kind of like shrug my head and said some people just don't get it so here what I can tell you about that you know we we had the beam topping ceremony last night there to be able to put beam of the A-frame up and what a what a cool ceremony that was to have it until go up you know and I tried to tell everybody I said this is a great moment but this is just the beginning of all the new things that are coming right we we've got a great master plan we got great leadership with President Benson and his executive Council and the resources they're putting behind it and giving me uh to be able to make some changes here but that indoor that's going to be beneficial not just to football but to all of our Sports when football's not on it our other sports can go in and utilize it and you don't have to look very far to see why I mean last week when the tropical storm came through here you know if we don't have an indoor we had to relocate football to Raleigh so that they could get in three practices during a critical preseason we had to relocate um our soccer teams for their exhibition games that we were going to host here and they had to go other places so um being able to have an indoor like that to be able to get inside and practice and scrimmage is invaluable and then what we can also do we can host events in there year round we can bring our lman back and put them in there on game days we we can do donor events there there's a lot of things that we can do and also allow our community to do in those in those places so really excited about that and excited about the other things that we have planned uh in store for postal Carolina yeah I know just a I I saw people that just went out of their minds when they saw the um the drawing and illustration of the crosswalk over 544 just what that means to people that Park on that side of the road over there and try to cross over during game day uh or students I mean that's just a no-brainer to me to put that up there you know from from a safety standpoint so things you got that coming you know I know president Vinson's talked about the convocation center on 501 uh that can be able to host University events or men's and women's basketball teams and you know you can drive concerts out of there bring in events bring in Revenue absolutely be able to help us with the university and thatth and then you've got the road being relocated around the new indoor um that'll start I think in late September early October that gives us a lot of area on that south side of the stadium to kind of reimagine what that needs to be yeah well that one big that one big brown field that's left over there that's where all the students go and have their tailgating before the uh the football game and then they make their way across across the the Bullard there into the stadium and up into their section and uh we uh we've kind of been we've kind of been picked on as a university over the the past several years that I've been involved with it you know saying that our student section's the worst in the world that that they don't ever want to stay past halftime so there's been all these ideas that have been created you know to try to keep keep the students in there the whole entire game you know even if it's not a favorable score on the on the uh on the scoreboard and I think I think the players and the fans deserve that as well and um so I'm I'm hoping that somebody's going to come up with a a great idea to keep them pacified I I've heard that a lot and I am challenging the students um come out give me some time um that you're going to see some new things uh come to William and Mary game in football okay um we've got to make it a production we've got to make it a place they want to stay right right uh there's going to be some new things and I'm getting in front of the students I've gotten in front of a couple of the groups that are here on campus right now I'm getting ready to get in front of the fraternities and sororities I'll be at the convocation uh event on Tuesday night in front of them as well and then we're going to have a watch party during the Jacksonville State game where we're going to give out all the t-shirts to the students for the till out blackout and white out that they have to come in the stadium and we're going to teach them some cheers some chants some things that they've got to do in between quarter breaks time outs you name it but you're GNA see some uh you're GNA see some Flames you're gonna see some pyrot Technics um you're GNA see a DJ booth right in the middle of the student section that'll work I know that'll work for them get that involved and uh just you know for your listeners and people watching um I'm working to try to get those lights that that I put I help put in in Columbia oh yeah trying to get I I won't have them for the first game but what I've told everybody is we're going to continually add things for The Fan Experience throughout the season and that's never going to be a finished product we're going to keep adding them we're going to keep making it better um I love that stuff I love that's kind of a hobby of mine is to try to find ways to make it better we were I was meeting with our creative team and our marketing team yesterday we were redoing the introductions um how the team comes out what tunnel looks like uh the halftime entertainment between the third and fourth quarter we we're going to we're going to take it up a knock here i' I'm sure you've heard everybody talk about the crazy Harley-Davidson entrance uh that's always been for the last couple years that's been that's been kind of a big fan um Outreach we're gonna be incorporating a little bit more of that that's good that's good I mean everybody does a fantastic job for you know for the size of the stadium um the size of our University you really you can't find any better my wife and I moved here from like I said from Columbia and uh we've been here about 10 years now and we've been following Coastal for about the past five years we kind of got our feet a little bit wet went to a couple football games and that that just that's about all it took to help us get hooked because they were going through um a period of time there where you know they were one of the best win percentages in the country you know regardless of who you were um Alabama or you know any of the other big schools they were ranked right up in there and then of course the big game here where where we won um against um um oh I'm I'm the school in um shoot I just lost my train of thought that's out in Utah um Brigham Young when Brigham Young came here and we beat them and that was during Co and that whole ball game came about in a it's an amazing story in itself in a 5-day period of time you know with travel and everything I mean it was incredible and then of course we upset them and um that was uh that just kind of um that just made the whole Co thing go away you know after we beat him and beat him here the way we beat him on national TV so but um back to you we gota get people out for it well you know you were talking about The Fan Experience and I think that's one of the greatest things there's a kid that's um a senior in high school this year and he's over in Lugal um his name's Christian Smith I don't know if you've heard of Christian or not but he's been here a couple of times um and been on campus by invite and uh came for a couple visitations and I met him and his dad and his uncle which is a huge Tennessee fan and I had problems with him here on our campus with that Tennessee hat on and uh I told him you know look I'd love to have your uh your nephew here but uh we're going to get you some different apparel uh you got to get different merch on we can't handle that here so um anyhow long story short I met met this kid and U he's been here a couple of times and I met him through the teal through through the teal toown experience and uh you know it was just a really neat thing we sat down and ate some Bojangles Chicken together and had a wonderful conversation and I made a relationship with him and his parents and and family members um just through you know going through teal town and meeting people on the weekends and that's sort of what I do I introduce myself to people and hand them a business card and you know tell them what I'm doing um and I think that's a really a cool um any way we can enhance that experience even more than what it is right now will make it pretty amazing so we're gonna we're g to continually work on that you're going to see some different things well I tell you we're we're so excited about you being here and the opportunities for what you can bring to this program I had one question for you just out of curiosity you you you might get asked this a lot or you may not John I lost you oh can you hear hear me hear you now I can hear you I got you yeah I I saw something earlier said you kind of had a weak signal I don't know if it's the uh the block walls in around you or what but uh long story short what I was what I was going to ask you is um what made you choose this career path you know I know you're a lawyer um and you have been you know to uh you've been well schooled and um you know what kind of how did you get into Athletics and from from that perspective persective John I tell you I I grew up I mean I played every every sort of ball you could play right I I love Athletics I I love what it teaches you about leadership what it teaches you about teamwork um you know being able to take a lot of people and get towards a common goal I I just always loved it and uh you know I wasn't blessed to be able to play very long I had a lot of injuries that that ended my career short and uh went to the University of Tennessee for undergrad and you know what a great sports program that they have there and just uh just always wanted to be around it so in college I knew I wanted to make a career of and I worked in everything from Minor League Baseball to Arena Football I worked at The Parks and Recreation Department and started a business where I was Contracting out concession operations for youth sporting events and um you know did that all through college and then decided I wanted to go to law school and when I was in law school um had the opportunity to meet with people at the NFL in their Le League council's office and uh you know they gave me an opportunity to to work in the NFL office and really knew that's what I wanted to do for the rest of my life I wanted to be around Sports somehow some way and uh at the NFL I was I was working with them but they don't hire right out of law school you got to have about 15 years of experience before they get you in there and uh so I just kept in touch with them and I was practicing law in New York and one day uh Derek Crawford from the league office called me and said said hey there's this job at the NCA I think you'd be really good for and uh I thought you know that's my way back into college athletics uh and the sports in general and uh it's just you know everywhere I've been I've been blessed to be around really good people that have helped me in my career and uh I just I love it I love you know I love all sports but College athletics are special I love the pageantry behind it um I I love the student athlete interaction and Coach interaction that I have and I just love the passionate fan base there's nothing better uh than a college sporting event when people riled up going against your rival um I love that and I I I also you know one thing I love about college sports or another thing I love about college sports I can get my family involved right we're having the soccer ribbon cutting ceremony tonight um my 8-year-old boy and six-year-old daughter is going to come out and they're having a little clinic and my eight-year-old can't wait to get on that field and run around um and that that's special uh you know I had my daughter football practice the other day and she was over there while they were scrimmaging that she was tling the tling Dums yeah that that's fun they get to grow up and be around it and they get to see some special special events and you know student athletes as hard as they work and all the things that they do all the great things they do um my kids get to see that and you know they get to grow up looking at that and the football team did it the other night they were working with the miracle leag out here and uh brought my son and daughter and wife out here to be able to to witness that and be around it so that was cool it was a good teaching moment right yeah those Stars nights are really cool there's a lot of churches around here including the one I go to that are involved in those as well yeah we got to talk about that on the way home you know and how blessed they are they need to get back uh they get to see student athletes do that so that's really cool absolutely absolutely yeah that's really um it is it's it is very overwhelming very humbling experience when you get involved with it you know you you see these kids and they're they're so excited I watched the video that the university produced and put out um and um that was just you know it almost brings you to tears um to see to see how excited those kids are yeah they did such a great job and to watch our athletes around them I mean our athletes really spent a lot of time and uh I I told Coach Beck and and staff I said guys we we need to open this up to more people people got to be able to see our student athletes and our staff you know like is not just game days right right let let them in and see them as a person get to know them yeah that that just makes that fan of patchman eting better absolutely you get get them in the stadium there and and uh get them to uh uh those kids to play you know just a scrimmage type football game there with the with the student athletes and people would probably donate tons more money um just being able to um um to be able to see something like that you know and participate in in the community so so what um what do you how do you feel about uh this upcoming football season I I I kind of um I've just began to recover really to be honest with you from baseball season after you do so many baseball games home and away and then the tournaments and then the Regionals Super Regionals however far you go with it and then still trying to follow everybody that's playing Summer Ball and what they're doing so I've had to convert my mind from baseball to football and you know it's it's like it's like shifting into a another gear and uh our baseball here will keep you up there where you need to be at and busy but um you know football seasons's here and it's upon us uh we've got what a couple weeks left until we play Jacksonville State and old Rich Rod down there he's always got good teams I enjoyed when they came up here and played us at home last year they they were a classy bunch of people I'm glad you enjoyed it that game took about 10 years off my life I was down there on the 10 yard as they were Jacksonville State was driving in the scort right I was I was crouched down was a long day for me right so I decided to go over there and beat him yeah well you know that's our only that's the only Gamecocks we ever get to play I believe I believe our boys would do it if they had a chance uh you know just just to say they played the game some so I I um but I I kid my wife I said we're playing the Gamecocks today so she always we do have USC on the schedule next year yeah head that to columia for that one oh for football oh wow I hadn't seen that yet that's a that's a good little tidbit here for me I appreciate that yeah that'd be awesome um I U I've got a buddy that has season tickets and then his uncle which I met down there a couple years ago when they played uh Clemson there um at home and um he he has one of those cocka booes and and um took us up in that cockaboose man that was the that was a ticket then we walked all the way down to the end of them uh where you can get on elevators and go up in the back of the stadium or escalators or something there I can't remember now but there was Darius uh uh Rucker bus sitting there and he he came off of it about the time we walked by and I was like man this can't get much better if we can just beat Clemson we'll do all right so but no just the um the whole experience there you know if I could imagine a a third of that being here with us you know when you got all 80,000 people with towels in their hands and they're doing Sandstorm and the lights are going on and off and I watched the soccer games the other night that we're on TV and I was just amaz you know that just amazed us to see see it before football season get good test drive for the light system I guess but um anyhow it's just Williams Bryce is just a special place man it's just a special place of my heart there hoping uh hoping we mimic a lot of that down here yeah well you know we need a nickname we need a nickname for Brooks you know they we got got Willie be there but we need a nickname for Brooks you know so that's kind of a um that that Stadium will be rocking though it's it's not a big Stadium but it's a big Stadium when there's a lot of people in there so um looking forward to that I'm looking forward to our appach state game this year too you want to talk about Rivals that is kind of our reliable and and talking about student section earlier um when you go to Boon uh and you see a ball game up there they there's nobody that leaves that Stadium up there until the the the last whistle blown somebody's picked all the trash up off the field those people never leave it's like they're going to be there for the next week if they're playing another home game and uh I'm just uh I I I like that kind of fan base and you know that kind of support and I know we got to continue to grow this program here and people are going to get on board you got to encourage them to keep doing that but um I really UMC excited about our future here and I'm I'm just so excited if you can't tell about you being here on board doing our ad job now I mean that is amazing so um to be here and I'm excited for the football season I think people need to get on board come come out because I've been going over the football practice they got 66 new guys but I can tell you those are some dudes out there um he went out and got guys that our defensive line Looks look like an SEC Defensive line they're big boys yeah he got some talent and if he can get if Coach B can get that to jail quickly 're we're going to be a dangerous team in the sunbell yeah I know a lot of people a lot of people don't you think a lot of people have kind of picked us a little bit low uh in the conference standings I I I think that we we've got better talent in that like you're talking about I watched them a couple of times and they look they look pretty good well it cracks me up you know everybody wants to be prognosticators and pick it's hard pick when you got the transfer portal and nobody knows who's on whose team yeah exactly what is it uh quarterback at JM is now at Texas State no I think he left one time and then he decided he was coming back didn't he one of their starters did you can't even you don't even know who's who's on I'm pretty sure he came back to JMU he's he's he's back starting to get the kid they had last year now you got you got 66 new guys here and I think that's what people are having trouble trying to figure out what we're going to um but I I mean we're talented um I I think we're going to shock a lot of people I just I keep encouraging people come out come out for that way Mary game I I I want people to see product on the field and see the new things we're going to do and then we're going to keep building that and you get to that uh I call it the school and boom we're not going to refer to them in their as their real name we'll just call it the school and boom that's that's going to be a big game yeah it um I I I can't wait to see they always travel well too their fans do and they fill the stadium up well um I um I I think that you know when when you look at you break down the SEC or the the um the Sun Belt in comparison to some of the other conferences that we're you know that we line up with certainly not the SEC or ACC but uh we can beat anybody on any given day that's just that's the way college football works sometimes same same with college basketball that can happen every day but um haven't said that about the sunb belt you know there's there's a that's a very competitive league we realistically should have just about every year at least five maybe six uh sunb belt teams that are playing in bowl game appearances every year I mean we really should it's that competitive so's great conference and that's one of the reasons I came here as competitive as it is I mean teams in those those powerful conferences don't really want to schedule us that's that's not that's gim me game for right come battle and most likely they're going to lose that game right I think that that makes this conference really special uh and you see you know compared to our counterparts and some of those other conferences I think top to bottom we're the best one out there right well you can't you can't say uh we you can't say we're not competitive and we don't give it our all those boys never quit I was so proud of them last year and last year's season as much adversity as they went through when Grayson got hurt and went down and then decided that you know it was best for him not to come back um given his condition and where I think he wanted to go to in the future and and um can't blame him for that that kid gave everything he had uh the the years that he was here and he'll always be up there on the top when it comes to shant to Clair alumni in athletics but you know you saw the quarterbacks that we had our second team quarterback our third team quarterback we were just going through everybody on a trial basis every week and the kids were winning you know it's like finally we finally we got uh you know settled in and and um we uh you know went out there and won that bowl game in Hawaii which was fantastic so I'm kind of losing your volume there again on you if you can make an adjustment can you hear me yeah I can hear you now yeah it just kind of faded out just kind of faded right out ohes no saying I I hope to be we should be playing in December again in a bowl game look forward to it well you said you know we've got 60 plus you know new players on the team like that you know some people just don't understand you really got to give a coach a fair shake you know if he comes in and he inherited ball players from another coach and another you know whole different set of circumstances you know and and I really thought there would probably be more people leave the first year last year when he was here you know jump in the portal just because the uncertainty and not knowing what's going to happen but he um he seems to have gone out and filled gaps where he needed to fill gaps with players really well through his his portal use and um you know I think coach Beck's got um I think he's got the right uh aspirations for this team and and expectations for it I think it's just like anywhere else you got to buy in you got to buy into the program you got to buy into what the team's doing and you know you've got to have all those different flavors come together to make that team like you were talking about that can gel and you know boom they're they're there when they need to be there playoff time so well listen I really appreciate you being with me this evening I know you've got some things that you wanted to do um this evening um uh some some duties I I know you said you were going to the soccer field over there that reminds me I got to call Natasha and make sure I know where to go pick up my um credential passes for her Cu uh I know they're playing uh they playing Expedition exp Exposition game tomorrow night at 6 right yeah so yeah I want to get out there and try to cover that and get something busy and then of course at the stadium this weekend too just to plug a few things um on is it a Friday night we're going to have the uh what I call the football Jamber there you know where all the teams come yeah on Friday night that's usually a big deal you know people really support um High School football area around here we've got a lot of you know we've got a lot of high schools in this County in ory county that feed these school systems and you know there's some fantastic athletes that come out of this County that uh you know not all of them come to school with us but you know they're they're fantastic all over the place where they go so well I think being able to host an event like that and host that jamere helps get kids on this campus and they get to see Coastal and what Coastal can provide so really really looking forward hosting everybody uh Friday night well we uh we really appreciate everything that you've done so far for the University and we know that you've got a long list of of things to get done and we're just going to be patient and uh and and see how things go and and uh you know I'm one of those kind of people that I like to observe things so I I don't get too judgmental about things um I I like to I like to see things kind of mold and go along give them a chance you know kind of thing so we're um we're certainly excited about you and your family being here here again and we want to wish you the best of luck this football season and this entire athletic season because it gets kind of crazy you know you got you got uh soccer coming up you got um you know then you all of a sudden You' got uh tennis and and football and um what am I leaving out here uh basketball is going to start and before too long and be going we got volleyball up we got basketballs you got winter baseball you know you just got so much stuff that that's going on on the campus it's it's uh it's sometimes hard to keep up with but I tell you kudos to the university and what Matt's doing now with uh with this new um broadcasting team that he's putting together in this network I think it's amazing and I I know we're yet to see what he's got in store for that thing but what he's done for this University up to the point where you you became uh the ad you know is just there's not really um anything that you can say but you know thumbs up to to what Matt's done here I mean he's just been an amazing guy and uh that's where his Forte is and I'm glad to see he's back doing what he's doing and I'm glad to see you're doing what you're doing so looking forward to working with him on that end absolutely well listen I'll let you go this evening and I really appreciate you taking your time to come in and sit in on the podcast I certainly hope that you'll come back and be a guest for us uh sometime in in the near future and uh we can get a you touch base back with you and see what kind of update we can get from on everything that's going on progress wise anytime John anytime I'll jump on I appreciate you having me thank you for your time Hey listen thank you folks um and if you see chance out in public you know tell him thank you for the the time that he spends with the media and and helping us uh just in our little Endeavors um I'm not affiliate associate of of any type of with the university other than I just love the school and and try to help people you know to stay informed as much as they possibly can so Matt have a good night blessings to your family and uh excuse me chance and if you need uh anything at all please let us know and we'll be glad to help in any way that we can I will thank you take care John thank you again and hey I apologize for the comment about the Tennessee hat it's all right hey I I spent so long in South Carolina I had to get rid of all my orangs go very well now now you got all that uh you got all that burgundy and uh um and black and and Garnet you well you can wear it here and nobody will say anything I still wear all mine the till now right I got a bunch of kill they give me a hard time you know I walk them over there and take a picture of um of the um um Williams Bryce building it's over there across from the baseball practice um bat and cage so I I still remind them we've got some we still got con with with South Carolina you take sir sir have a good evening apprciate it have a good one thank you byebye minut