Longtime Seymour coach and former Waldron girls assistant basketball coach Donna Sullivan has been honored with an inaugural award.

Two Indiana high school basketball coaches have been recognized among the inaugural honorees of the John Wooden Legacy Coaching Award presented by the National High School Basketball Coaches Association.

Gene Miiller, coach of the Washington boys, and Donna Sullivan, a long-time coach of the Seymour girls and a current Trinity Lutheran girls’ assistant, are the first honorees from the Hoosier state as nominated by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association. The two join 76 other winners from 40 states and the District of Columbia that were put forth in an NHSBCA program coordinated with the Paycom Wooden Legacy tournament played Nov. 25-26 at Anaheim, Calif.

The award honors scholastic basketball coaches from around the country who are educators and have achieved excellence on the floor, in the classroom and in the community that further embody the characteristics and legacy of the late John Wooden. The criteria for the award are rooted in the ideals of education, longevity, character, service and excellence.

 Sullivan, 73, coached girls’ basketball at Seymour from 1970 through 2001. She compiled a career record of 344-241 with the Owls with 10 sectional trophies, five regional crowns, one semi-state title, one State Finals appearance in 1987 and two South Central Conference championships. Four of her Seymour players were chosen to the Indiana All-Stars in Erika McCoy (1986), Teri Moren (1987), Julie VonDielingen (1989) and Amber Holle (1997).

After stepping down at Seymour, Sullivan later served as a girls’ basketball assistant coach at Waldron for 12 seasons and currently is in her sixth season as a girls’ basketball assistant coach Trinity Lutheran. She also currently serves as executive vice president for the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s executive committee.

Sullivan spoke with GIANT fm Sports.

Sullivan was head coach of the Indiana All-Star team in 1989, and she was the Indiana All-Star assistant coach in 1982. Sullivan was voted an IBCA District 5 Coach of the Year in 1986, an Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association District 5 Coach of the Year four times and was named a winner of an IBCA Virgil Sweet Award in 2004. She was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002, and she received the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame “President's Award” in 2003 and 2012.

In addition, Sullivan received the Grotke Award from Indiana University in 2015, the highest award given to a former female athlete at Indiana University, and she was inducted into Seymour High School's inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame Class in 2017. Sullivan also received the ICGSA Service Award in 2000 and the National Federation of High School’s Robert F. Kanaby Citizenship Award in 2001. She also conducted basketball clinics in Africa in 1985.

Sullivan is a 1966 graduate of Orleans High School and a 1970 graduate of Indiana University, where she competed in volleyball, softball and field hockey on a club level because intercollegiate sports were not offered for women at that time. At Seymour, Sullivan also coached volleyball from 1973-89 (359-102 with four SCC, 12 sectional, six regional and two semi-state titles) and track & field from 1973-80 (45-12 with one SCC title). She also served as the Owls' assistant athletic director from 1977 through 2003.

Miiller, 67, is in his 46th season as a varsity basketball coach with a record of 725-352, including a 257-124 mark in his 17th season with the Washington Hatchets. During his tenures at Kankakee Valley (1976-81), Vincennes Lincoln (1981-98), Lafayette Jeff (1998-2005) and Washington (2005-present), Miiller’s teams have won 29 sectionals, eight regionals, four semi-states and state titles at Washington in 2008, 2010 and 2011. He also guided Vincennes Lincoln to a state runner-up finish in 1984.

A 1971 graduate of South Newton High School, Miiller was a three-time letterman, a two-time all-conference player and set school records for single-game scoring and assists. He also played football and was class president in high school. Miiller also is a 1975 graduate of Wabash College, where he was a three-year basketball letterman for the Little Giants and winner of the school’s George E. Carscallen Prize in mathematics.

Miiller has coached five Indiana All-Star players in his career in Sean Daugherty (1994), Payton Stovall (2003) Bryan Bouchie (2007), and Mr. Basketballs Tyler Zeller (2008) and Cody Zeller (2011).

He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Wabash College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.

He also was an IBCA District 1 Coach of the Year in 1980 at Kankakee Valley, an IBCA District 5 Coach of the Year in 1990 at Vincennes Lincoln and an Indiana All-Star assistant coach in 1992. In addition, Miiller has held basketball clinics in Africa and Australia during his career.

Greg Wooden, grandson of John Wooden, wrote a letter to each 2021 winner of the Wooden Legacy Coaching Award that stated:

“Our family cannot express how excited we are that you are receiving the NHSBCA Wooden Legacy Coaching Award. My grandfather, John R. Wooden, devoted his life to making an impact in the lives of others through the game of basketball. His passion was teaching, and there was no group that he was more passionate about that subject than coaches.

“The fact that you are receiving this award is a testament to a long-standing commitment you have made as a teacher/coach within your community. You are receiving this award because you embody many traits that my grandfather felt were vital to success.

“I know that if my grandfather was here today, he would feel that it was an honor to meet you and congratulate you on your success. In his memory, our family wants to do that for him. We appreciate you, and the commitment you have made to success. We could not be more thrilled that the NHSBCA has incorporated this award and could not be happier that you are its recipient in its inaugural year.”

John Wooden, namesake of the award, was an Indiana native, Martinsville High School graduate and Purdue University graduate. He was a three-time basketball all-state selection in high school, leading the Artesians to a state title as a junior in 1927 and to state runner-up finishes as a sophomore and senior in 1926 and 1928. He became a three-time All-America player at Purdue, helping the Boilermakers be named the Helms Athletic Foundation national champion in 1932.

Wooden later guided UCLA to a record 10 NCAA men’s national championships with a 620-147 mark after previously coaching at South Bend Central High School and Indiana State University. His 29-year college coaching record, including two years at Indiana State, was 664-162. His 11-year high school coaching record, including two years at Dayton (Ky.), was 218-42.

The National High School Basketball Coaches Association is a network of coaches’ associations from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with a member from each state on its board of directors. The NHSBCA is the national voice for high school basketball coaches, working to foster high standards of professionalism and to support coaches.