From his front-row seat in the Hammermill Center, Gary Miller ’72 has witnessed as many buzzer-beating shots and conference championship celebration memories as anyone. Now Miller has created a Hammermill Center memory of his own.
The Miller family joined (at center)
Gary and Barbara Miller, President Keith Taylor, Ph.D. and Athletic Director Lisa Goddard-McGuirk for a symbolic presentation at a Golden Knights basketball game this past season.
In honor of a gift of $750,000 to support the modernization of the Hammermill Center, the storied hardwood will now be known as Gary Miller Court. Through his gift, and others, the Hammermill Center will undergo a complete modernization which will include new locker room and training facilities for the Gannon teams that utilize the center. Expansion plans also include a permanent home for the University Athletics Hall of Fame.
The venerable building has many times been cited by opposing coaches as one of the toughest places for a visiting basketball team to win in direct recognition of Gannon’s storied basketball tradition and devoted fans. Few can match Miller and his wife, Barbara, for devotion.
“I have been very fortunate in my career and owe a great deal to the education I received at Gannon,” Miller said. “To be able to give back to my alma mater in a meaningful way that supports a program that has meant so much to me and the Erie community was an opportunity Barbara and I could not pass up.”
“To be able to give back to my alma mater in a meaningful way … was an opportunity Barbara and I could not pass up”
Gannon’s men’s basketball team has won more than 800 games in the Hammermill Center and Gary Miller has seen many of those wins. Now he’ll have something else to see from his front-row seat, and it will be painted in big, bold letters: Gary Miller Court.