By Brenna Eller
Whether you’re tuning in for his sports beats or listening to find out how your local team is doing, Scott Miller is the man you’re bound to hear.
This summer will be Miller’s seventh year with Ad Astra Radio as the Hutchinson Sports Director and the Voice of the Trinity Catholic Celtics.
“I’m going on my seventh year of being the voice of the Trinity Catholic Celtics with my main man Joe Palacioz, but also broadcast games for so many great teams including the championships for Andale football, Sterling women’s basketball, Hillsboro boys basketball, Moundridge boys basketball, and the Inman Teutons runners up football teams,” Miller said.
Miller was born and raised in Mankato, Kan., and is a proud Mankato Cougar alum, although the school is now known as the Rock Hills Grizzlies.
Miller has been a sports fan his whole life and said when his athletic dreams were cut short, broadcasting seemed to be the best way for him to stay in the sports field.
It was thanks to a good friend at Kansas State University who told Miller that the student radio station, the Wildcat 91.9, was looking for board ops for K-State games.
“After checking it out, I joined the sports staff and the next thing you know, I’m broadcasting games from all over the Big 12,” Miller said. “I’ve gotten the privilege of broadcasting games from some amazing stadiums and environments including Nebraska, Texas A & M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Iowa State, KU and obviously my personal favorite Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan.”
After college, Miller got a job at Manhattan Broadcasting initially with the news department. After a few years on the news side, he transitioned to sports and was a co-host of “The Game” daily sports talk show on KMAN in Manhattan. Then, he started his path of broadcasting high school sports with the Manhattan Indians and several area schools.
“I would also get a big break while working at KMAN, as the K-State baseball team was looking for a fill-in Public Address (PA) announcer for a few games,” Miller said. “I filled in and the following year was the full-time PA for K-State baseball. After that, I would get the opportunity to fill-in and PA both the K-State men’s and women’s basketball teams, including the first time the men’s team played at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. I would also become the full-time PA voice for K-State volleyball as well.”
Miller met his wife Erica in Manhattan and moved with her to St. Kitt’s in the Caribbean as she attended veterinarian school.
“After four years spent on an island in the middle of the Caribbean, we would move to Stillwater, OK, for my wife’s clinical year,” Miller said.
In Oklahoma, Miller picked his sports career back up thanks to Casey Kendrick, working full-time at TV-31 hosting several sports shows, and co-hosted a daily sports radio show on Triple Play Sports radio.
“I would also broadcast several games for the Stillwater Pioneers,” Miller said. “Just like in Manhattan, I would catch a break and the Oklahoma State women’s soccer team was looking for a PA.”
After getting that job, he became the full-time PA for Oklahoma State University baseball, which included a run to the College World Series.
“Once again I was also the fill-in for men’s and women’s basketball in the historic Gallagher-Iba arena,” Miller added.
Miller believes his most challenging endeavor may have been when he was a PA for OSU Equestrian, but he thoroughly enjoyed it.
After a few years he also became one of the voices of the Ponca City Wildcats, before he and his wife and their 1-year-old-daughter Leigha, decided to move back to Kansas to be closer to family.
“Thanks to current owner Chris Shank, I was lucky enough to get a job interview with he and Cliff Shank at Ad Astra Radio and the rest is history,” Miller said.
Football is Miller’s favorite sport to broadcast overall, with basketball being a close second.
“It may sound cliché, but I love the people I work with and have a passion for broadcasting games,” Miller said. “I’ve gotten to broadcast several state champions with so many great teams around this area.”
While he loves to cheer on the local and statewide teams, if you know Miller at all, you probably know he is a Philadelphia Eagles super fan.
“You’d probably know right away, as 90% of my clothing is Eagle’s gear,” Miller said.
When asked what his favorite music genre is, Miller said he has a range of music tastes, but his favorite band of all time is the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who he has seen six times in concert.
“If I’m not listening to the Peps, I’m probably listening to 90’s R&B, rap, alt rock or 80’s music,” Miller said.
Miller also shared some of his hobbies, many of which are still in the sports field.
“I love playing golf, but I’m not sure golf loves me with some of my scores,” he said jokingly.
He also plays pick-up basketball and city league basketball in his free time.
“Probably my biggest hobby though is lifting weights,” Miller said, “And I love just spending time with my wife and children.”
In August, Miller will have been married to his wife, Erica Miller for 10 years. Erica is the veterinarian and owner of Apple Lane Animal Hospital in Hutchinson.
“We have two amazing children: Leigha who turns 7 in September and MacKoy will turn 5 in September as well,” Miller said, adding, “Erica’s birthday is also in September so that’s certainly a busy month for us all.”
