Nyla Milleson (born September 8, 1962)[1] is the athletic director at Drury University and the former women's basketball head coach of Missouri State University and George Mason University. She was hired at Missouri State before the 2007-08 season and compiled a 105–87 overall record with the Lady Bears and a Missouri Valley Conference record of 59-49. She was relieved of coaching duties after the 2012-13 season and was hired by George Mason for the following season. She resigned at George Mason after the 2020-2021 season;[2] her record with the Patriots was 98-140, including a mark of 40-86 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Her overall record as an NCAA Division I head coach is 203-227.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Athletics director |
| Team | Drury University |
| Conference | Great Lakes Valley Conference (Division II) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1962-09-08) September 8, 1962 (age 59) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2007-2013 | Missouri State |
| 2013–2021 | George Mason |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 203–227 (.472) |
After one year as athletic director at Hollister R-V School District, in February 2022, Milleson was named athletics director at Drury University.[3]
Milleson began her coaching career in 1989-90 as the head coach of Junction City High School, where she turned a struggling program into one of the top-ranked teams in the state of Kansas. In just her third season, she helped Junction City to a 19-6 record, leading the squad into the Kansas state Class 6A tournament in 1992.
Then it was off to Missouri after being recruited by then-Springfield R-12 (and later Drury University) athletic director Edsel Matthews to provide a spark to the program at Glendale High School. That she did, compiling a 157-39 record from 1992 to 1999, including a state Class 4A championship in 1996. That effort earned Missouri Basketball Coaches Association and Associated Press Coach of the Year honors for Milleson.
Her final two teams at Glendale finished third in the state (1997) and made it to the state sectionals (1998) before she was handed the keys to the inaugural Drury program.
All told at Glendale, Milleson’s teams won four Ozark Conference titles, three district crowns and a state Top 10 ranking in each of her seven seasons at Glendale. She produced five first team all-state selections, two first team MBCA all-academic players and 10 players who moved on to play college basketball (including six at the NCAA Division I level).
Milleson is a 1985 graduate of Kansas State University, where she was a team captain of the Wildcats’ rodeo team. She earned a degree in psychology/education and received a master's degree in education and administration with honors (magna cum laude) from K-State in 1989.
Prior to attending Kansas State, Milleson was a student-athlete at Seward Community College, a stint preceded by a prep career in Goodland, Kansas that included academic honors as well as athletic honors in basketball, volleyball and track.
Milleson and husband Brent have two sons.