Coach Miller: The Wild Card Who Became a Legend
Photo: Dr. Vic Buccola, Steve Miller and Peter K. Godinez
Coach Miller had more than one beginning in his fascinating journey—and I was lucky enough to be there for one of the most important. We both arrived at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1976 and, fittingly, left in 1981. It felt like destiny. I was a second-generation Mustang, following the trail blazed by my father, Pete Anthony Godinez, a Hall of Fame boxer from the Class of '55.
My dad had the honor of training alongside one of his closest friends, Dr. Vic Buccola—who just so happened to be the Athletic Director at Cal Poly during that pivotal moment. When the legendary Coach Steve Simmons announced his departure, Dr. Buccola headed the search committee to find a worthy successor to lead the Track & Field program.
It was Coach Simmons himself who whispered, “You might want to take a look at this guy… Steve Miller.”
The committee got to work, did their due diligence, and returned to Dr. Buccola with a status report and a neatly ranked list of three candidates. Coach Miller came in third. That’s right—third.
Naturally, Dr. Buccola raised an eyebrow and asked, “Why is he third?”
The committee explained:
He had no prior college coaching experience.
His head coaching experience at the high school level was limited.
And—brace yourselves—his bold personality might cause some… “issues.”
Dr. Buccola didn’t miss a beat. He looked them square in the eye and said,“If I can’t handle this guy, I don’t deserve to be the Athletic Director of Cal Poly.”
And with that, the adventure began.