General 12/22/2025 12:00:00 AM

Hall of Fame Inductee: Al Miles

On Oct. 11, Penn State Abington (formerly Penn State Ogontz) announced the inaugural class of its new Athletics Hall of Fame in conjunction with the 75^th anniversary of the university honoring 10 legendary inductees. The announcement was made at halftime of the men's soccer game at Memorial Field with Abington Chancellor Dr. Gary Liguori and Director of Athletics, Intramurals & Recreation Erin Foley. Click here for official announcement.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. at the Philmont Country Club. Registration and cocktail hour begins at 2 p.m. with the ceremony beginning at 3 p.m. The event is open to the public. Ticket sales will end on Jan. 1, 2026. To purchase tickets, click here.

We'll be featuring each inductee leading up to the induction ceremony in January. Today, we highlight the legendary career of Al Miles who coached and taught at Penn State Ogontz for 25 years (1966-1991).

Our next Hall of Fame feature highlights the legendary career of Al Miles who coached the men's tennis team for 14 seasons from 1975-1989. Miles was also an associate professor of English and Humanities at the University for 25 years (1966-1991).

"From my recollection he would be very chill and gracious about the honor," said former student-athlete and alum Todd Kaminski on Miles' selection to the hall of fame. "Then he would give some very well thought out acceptance speech."

During his 14 years at the helm of the men's tennis program, Miles accumulated an impressive win/loss record of 118-41. He's currently the program's all-time winningest coach. Miles' teams won seven Commonwealth Campus Athletic Conference (CCAC) Championships, including a stretch of three straight from 1977-1980. The 1978-79 team finished unblemished with a 13-0 record and had eight student-athletes earn All-CCAC honors.

The Nittany Lions finished undefeated again in 1985-86 with a 12-0 record. That season was capped off with another CCAC Title and an EPCC championship. Ogontz followed with another CCAC championship the next year with a 13-2 record and won Miles' seventh championship in 1988-89, his final season coaching.

Miles also coached the women's tennis program for four years (1979-1983) totaling 17 victories. The team won the CCAC Championship in 1979-80 and were runners-up in 1980-81.

A gentleman and a scholar, Miles exemplified the finest qualities of a collegiate educator. His love of tennis and teaching made him an inspiration to his students and athletes in addition to making him a great coach.

"[Coach Miles] made me team Captain and I said, 'you know I'm not the number one player, right? Why me?'," said Kaminski who was named captain in 1980. "[Coach] said, 'you don't know it yet, but you've got it. You are a leader and I need you to lead.' This blew my mind as a 19-year-old who needed to hear this and his words gave me tons of confidence, and he let me make decisions. Al kick started my curiosity and lifelong learning about leadership!"

In 1993, Miles received the prestige Robert J. Scannell Roll-of-Honor award which is given annually to an administrator, faculty, staff member or coach who has served campus athletic, intramural and recreational programs with distinction. Miles is one of five individuals from Abington to receive the honor since the awards inception in 1990. All five are part of the inaugural Hall of Fame class.

Miles passed away in December of 1993. His legacy is still felt on campus to this very day. The Athletics Department each year recognizes a tennis student-athlete with the Al Miles Tennis Award. Created in 1995, the award is given to a student that holds a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher and demonstrates leadership and teaching the sport of tennis.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. at the Philmont Country Club. Registration and cocktail hour begins at 2 p.m. with the ceremony beginning at 3 p.m. The event is open to the public. Ticket sales will end on Jan. 1, 2026. To purchase tickets, click here.

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