Wayne Miller was a three-sport athlete while attending Thornton Township High School in Harvey, Illinois.

He lettered in football as a running back and earned all-conference honors as a linebacker. He served as captain to both the baseball and wrestling teams.

As a wrestler, he was coached by Hall of Fame wrestling coaches Ted Czech and Jack Robinson. Wayne twice qualified for the Illinois High School Association state finals and was a two-time conference, district, and sectional champion (1958 -1960).

Upon graduation from Thornton in 1960, having been recruited by the legendary National Hall of Fame wrestling coach Cliff Keen, Wayne enrolled at the University of Michigan. The match proved to be a good one for both parties.

In 1964, Wayne was selected Michigan team captain and attained All-American status at 157 pounds by finishing fourth at the Division I NCAA Championships held at Cornell University. Wayne lost 4-3 in the final seconds of the championship round to NCAA Champion, Gordy Hassman of Iowa State. Wrestling for third place against Bill Lam of Oklahoma, Wayne found himself on the short end of an overtime tie/referee's split decision. Official Larry Ten Pas awarded Wayne his vote.

Wayne graduated from Michigan in January of 1965 and remained in Ann Arbor working on his master's degree and assisting with the wrestling team. In the fall of the 1965-66 school year, Wayne continued the pursuit of his master's degree as a graduate assistant at Northern Illinois University and then served as NIU assistant wrestling coach for Dr. Robert Brigham.

The following two years, 1966-1968, Wayne taught and served as assistant wrestling coach to Vito Bianco at DeKalb Junior High. Wayne credits Vito with showing him the techniques of how to teach fundamentals to young grapplers.

The Wayne Miller era at DeKalb High School began in the fall of 1968. Over the next 15 years, the Barb program excelled under Wayne's leadership. His teams won 15 consecutive IHSA regional titles, 12 conference championships (they finished second in the other three tournaments) and three sectional championships. Six times the Miller-led Barbs finished in the Top 10 in the State.

In 1971, the DeKalb Barbs took home the IHSA third-place trophy, an impressive accomplishment for a school with an enrollment of 1,200 to 1,400 students. Forty of Wayne's wrestlers qualified for the state championships, producing 14 medalists and three state champions. Six of his wrestlers won either the state freestyle or Greco-Roman championships, and three went on to become Junior Nationals champions.

During Wayne's tenure, DeKalb won 207 dual meets while losing just 21 for a .925 winning percentage. During that period, the IHSA permitted only 16 dual meets per season.

Between 1973 and 1977, the Miller-led Barbs won 67 consecutive duals and had six undefeated seasons. To create a foundation for the DeKalb High School program, Wayne established a DeKalb Park District program in 1968, which served over 250 youngsters from kindergarten through fifth grade at no cost to participants.

Wayne was also an official and worked numerous high school and collegiate wrestling matches, including the 1972 NCAA Regional Championships, hosted by NIU.

Beyond the wrestling room, Wayne has been deeply involved with the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association. He served as vice president of the IWCOA under Steve Combs, the first president of the organization. He helped organize the first All-State wrestling banquet in 1971 and the following year he promoted the IWCOA Hall of Fame banquet to coincide with the All-State banquet.

As a member of the IHSA Advisory Board, Wayne worked diligently, while always avoiding the limelight, at the IHSA individual state tournament.

In 1981, for his many contributions and accomplishments, he was inducted into the IWCOA Hall of Fame. He later served as Grand Marshal for the 1995 IHSA individual state finals and he was inducted into the DeKalb Hall of Fame in 2007. The following year, the IWCOA recognized Wayne with its highest award, the Lifetime Achievement Award.