Beloved Former Notre Dame Softball Coach Passes Away

With 24 seasons of coaching overall, including 17 at Lake Michigan College (1974-1991) and seven at Notre Dame from 1993-2001, Miller was nothing but influential in the softball and women’s sports community. 

Miller joined Lake Michigan College in 1974 as the first head coach of the women’s volleyball, basketball, and softball teams. After juggling all three duties for three seasons, she became the college’s first female athletics director in 1978 and shifted her focus solely to softball.

Her Lake Michigan College softball teams became recognized as powerhouses within the NJCAA. From 1981 to 1985, the school finished in the nation’s top five, and she earned Region Softball Coach of the Year honors 10 times from 1980 to 1990.

Upon taking the head coaching position at Notre Dame, she immediately made an impact on the Irish while remaining faithful to Lake Michigan College, serving on the Foundation Board of Directors.

Miller became just the second coach in Irish softball history and moved the team into the national spotlight. In Sept. 2025, Lake Michigan College honored Miller and her family by dedicating the field to her and her late husband, Lloyd. 

After winning three Midwestern Collegiate Conference regular-season and tournament titles from 1993-95, and coached Notre Dame to a program-best batting average of .311, Miller and her team moved into the BIG EAST Conference in 1996. That year, the Irish won 48 games, the most in program history.

With 800 career victories, she led the Irish to another unprecedented season in 1999, finishing 42-20 overall and captured the BIG East Tournament Championship for the first time in program history. The team went undefeated against conference rivals (19-0) before falling to Nebraska in the NCAA Regionals. 

 In their four seasons in the BIG East Conference under Miller, the Irish compiled the best conference record at 64-8, with three BIG East South Division titles and one overall regular-season title in 1999.

Most of the major Notre Dame softball records were established during the Miller era when she coached 10 All-Americans, 14 Academic All-Americans, 25 NFCA All-Mideast Region selections, 27 All-BIG EAST First Team selections and 13 All-Midwestern Collegiate Conference selections.

Her final season in 2001, before retiring, set the standard for the Notre Dame softball program today. That team won a school-record 54 games, was ranked eighth in the country and earned the program’s first No.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.  

“Coach Miller was one of the biggest influences on my life,” current Notre Dame head coach and former player Kris Ganeff wrote in an Instagram post. “She took a chance on me two times in my life.  At 17, she gave me the greatest opportunity to be a part of this program as a player.  She was the greatest coach who taught us to work hard, give everything, and love each other and this program.  The lessons I learned from her are brought out in the program on the daily.  Again, at 24 years old, she gave me the chance to be a coach here - forever grateful for that opportunity.

“Our program will forever be remembered for the legacy Coach Liz Miller has left on this program.  We thank her and her family for everything throughout the years!“

Miller was an athlete herself, too. She played both field hockey and volleyball at Western Michigan University, and spent six summers playing for an American Softball Association travel softball team.

Miller was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2005. 

Miller’s impact on the game will forever be remembered throughout the Notre Dame and entire softball community.