Frank Millard
Frank Millard is one of the most important figures in the history of New England Prep School Wrestling. Frank built the Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH) School into a wrestling powerhouse and led all of New England Prep Wrestling into a new era as its organizational mastermind. From 1985 until 2008, Coach Millard guided one of the finest high school wrestling programs in New England. Frank's NMH teams posted a remarkable 385-134-3 dual meet record, while winning six Class "A" Team titles and one New England Prep Team title.
In 2009, Frank retired from head coaching and handed the NMH reigns to Rob Buyea. Frank continues his involvement with NMH Wrestling as an assistant coach, helping last year's team earn Class A and New England Prep Championships. Besides his coaching duties at NMH, Frank was also coordinator of physical education and athletics for more than twenty years. Frank's legacy extends well beyond the athletic programs at NMH. Indeed, his impact on the larger New England wrestling community has been enormous. For more than two decades, Coach Millard wrote a prep school wrestling newsletter, managed countless tournaments, and served as President of the New England Independent School Wrestling Association. In addition, Frank served on the wrestling committees of the United States Wrestling Federation (USWF), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). Frank continues to contribute to the wrestling community in his "retirement" as Chairman of the National Prep Wrestling Tournament Board, a position that he has held for the past five years.
Coach Millard's wrestling career started long before his tenure at NMH. Frank wrestled in high school in Watertown, N.Y., and in college for the State University of New York (SUNY) at Cortland, where he was 2-time SUNY Athletic Conference runner-up. After college, Frank spent the next 45 years as a wrestling coach, coaching at public and private high schools and at NCAA Division III and NJCAA institutions. Among Coach Millard's many accomplishments is a record-setting 92 consecutive dual-meet victories at SUNY Delhi.
Frank's overall coaching record stands at an astonishing 718-204-3, ranking him second in all-time wins for all levels of wrestling in the United States. In both 1983 and 1985, Coach Millard was awarded the NCAA-NJCAA Wrestling Man-of-the-Year award. As a tribute to his significant contributions to the sport of wrestling, Frank was inducted into the NJCAA Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1982, the New York Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2000, and the Cortland State Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006. With his induction into the Massachusetts chapter, Frank becomes one of a handful of men to be inducted into two separate chapters of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Frank and his wife Linda now reside in Keene, NH, where they enjoy visits from their four grown children: Jessica, Sarah, Jesse, and Bre.
Awards:
Year
2010
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Award
Lifetime Service to Wrestling
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Chapter/Region
Massachusetts
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Year
2000
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Award
Lifetime Service to Wrestling
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Chapter/Region
New York - Upstate
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Our Mission: To honor the sport of wrestling by preserving its history, recognizing extraordinary individual achievements, and inspiring future generations