Miami University is recognized as the "Cradle of Coaches" due to its unrivaled success in producing coaching legends. In 1959, the moniker "Cradle of Coaches" was first used by Bob Kurz, former Miami University sports information director, in describing the legacy of coaches and players who were at one time associated with the Miami University football program. The glory years for the Miami Redskins began as early as the 1930s and lasted through the 1960s. Membership in the Cradle of Coaches was broadened in 1975 to include coaching achievement in other Miami athletic programs. Cradle membership also came to include leadership and contributions made by Miami graduates in administrative athletic roles. Miami University has a long and proud tradition of producing exceptional coaches. In 1959, Bob Kurtz (Class of 1958) former sports information director, Miami University coined the term 'Cradle of Coaches', as he pondered an article he was writing concerning several past Miami players. He began to think about the many prominent collegiate and professional football coaches of the time who had trained through the Miami football team program. Whether tied to Miami early in their athletic career as players or as coaches. The school has been the training ground for such athletic dignataries as: Chester Pittser, Paul Brown, Sid Gillman, Woody Hayes, Bill Arnsparger, Georg Blackburn, Earl Blaik, Dick Crumb, Stu Holcolm, Bill Mallory, John McVay, Bo Schembechler, Richard "Doc" Urich and Randy Walker. In reference to the many star football coaches who have passed through Miammi there have also been athletes. Since 1959 the term has come to reach beyond football and is now connected to all sports at Miami University. In 1992, the Cradle of Coaches Association was formed to recognize the accomplishments of these coaches The first inductees were: Weeb Ewbank '28, John Pong '52, Bob Kurtz '58 and Bill Narduzzi '59 and the list has grown to many more including: Paul Brown '30, Paul Dietzel '48, Ara Parseghian '48 and Carmen Cozza. In 2014, John Harbaugh '84 was inducted into the Cradle of Coaches. In 2000, the Walter Havighurst Special Collections and Archives received a generous donation of materials about Weeb Ewbank from Gerald and Steve Stout and Nick Selvaggio. The Cradle of Coaches has expanded to include formal association with bi-annual meetings, a newsletter and a large and growing membership. The association was administered through Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, specifically, through the joint efforts of the Sports Inforamation Office and the Miami University Alumni Association. In later years, the scope of the Cradle of Coaches was broadened to honor coaching greatness in other athletic programs, adding to the already long list of successes of coaches and players such as Walter Alston (baseball), Darrell Hedric (basketball), and Dick Shrider (baseball) to name but a few. The Cradle also includes leadership and contributions made by miami graduates in administrative roles in athletics.

The collection also consist of items related to the lives of Miami alumni who have achieved national and international success in athletivs such as William "Bill" Mulliken who represented the United States as the 1959 Pan American Games and the 1960 Olympics where he received a gold medal in swimming.