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Charles Thomas McMillen (born May 26, 1952) is an American politician, businessman, and retired professional
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player. A
Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...
, McMillen represented
Maryland's 4th congressional district Maryland's 4th congressional district comprises portions of Prince George's County and Anne Arundel County. The seat is represented by Anthony Brown, a Democrat. The district includes most of the majority-black precincts on the Maryland side ...
from January 3, 1987 to January 3, 1993. On March 22, 2011, he was appointed as chairman of the inaugural Board of Directors of the President's Foundation on Sports, Physical Fitness, and Nutrition. He is also the author of ''Out of Bounds'', a critical look at the unhealthy influence of sports on ethics, and he served on the Knight Foundation's Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics investigating abuses within college sports.


Career


Basketball

Prior to entering politics, McMillen was a star basketball player on all levels. In 1970, he was the number one high school basketball player in the U.S. coming out of
Mansfield, Pennsylvania Mansfield is a borough located in east-central Tioga County, Pennsylvania, United States, in the Tioga River valley. It is situated at the intersection of U.S. Route 6 and U.S. Business Route 15, about southwest of Elmira, New York. History In ...
, and was the biggest recruiting catch early in Coach
Lefty Driesell Charles Grice "Lefty" Driesell (born December 25, 1931) is a retired American college basketball coach. He was the first coach to win more than 100 games at four different NCAA Division I schools, Driesell led the programs of Davidson College, t ...
's career at the
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mar ...
, beating out rival Coaches
Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel ...
of the
University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, NC School o ...
and
John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed the Wizard of Westwood, he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head ...
of
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
for McMillen's services. Wooden instead signed
Bill Walton William Theodore Walton III (born November 5, 1952) is an American television sportscaster and former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for coach John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins, winning three consecutive national ...
, who proved to be the far more consequential player. McMillen played for the Terrapins from 1971 to 1974, McMillen was also a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic Basketball Team that lost a controversial gold medal game to the Soviet Union. McMillen received his B.S. from
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mar ...
in chemistry, which is part of the
University of Maryland College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences The College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS) at the University of Maryland, College Park, is home to ten academic departments and a dozen interdisciplinary research centers and institutes. CMNS is one of 13 schools and colleg ...
. After graduating from Maryland in 1974, McMillen was drafted with the ninth pick in the first round of the
1974 NBA draft The 1974 NBA draft was the 28th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 28, 1974, before the 1974–75 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players ...
by the
Buffalo Braves The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball franchise based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division from 1970 ...
and the first round of the
1974 ABA Draft The American Basketball Association draft was held from 1967 to 1975. First overall picks Note: 1974 ABA College Draft, not 1974 ABA Draft of NBA Players Further reading *{{cite book, last=Bradley, first=Robert D., title=The Basketball Draft Fac ...
by the
Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...
. McMillen signed with the Braves but postponed his entry into the NBA in order to attend the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
as a
Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...
. During his time at Oxford, McMillen was a member of the Oxford University basketball team. He also commuted to Bologna, to play for Italian club
Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...
. During his eleven-year
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
career, he played for the
Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...
,
New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...
,
Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...
, and
Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...
, before he retired in 1986 to pursue his political career.


U.S. House

He was elected to the U.S. Congress as a Democrat to represent Maryland's 4th district, and served 1987–1993 as that district's representative. In 1992, the 4th was redrawn as a black-majority district due to a mandate from the Justice Department. His home in Crofton was drawn into the Eastern Shore-based 1st District, represented by one-term Republican Congressman
Wayne Gilchrest Wayne Thomas Gilchrest (born April 15, 1946) is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives representing . In 2008, Gilchrest was defeated in the Republican primary by State Senator And ...
. Although McMillen did very well in the more urbanized areas of the district near
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
and Washington, D.C., it was not enough to overcome Gilchrest's margin on the Eastern Shore, and McMillen lost his reelection bid. McMillen is thought to be the tallest-ever member of Congress. At 6 feet 11 inches, he is two feet taller than
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to it ...
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the ...
Barbara Mikulski Barbara Ann Mikulski ( ; born July 20, 1936) is an American politician and social worker who served as a United States senator from Maryland from 1987 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she also served in the United States House of Repr ...
, who is believed to be the shortest representative ever.


Later career

McMillen was appointed to the
University System of Maryland The University System of Maryland (USM) is a public higher education system in the U.S. state of Maryland. The system is composed of the eleven campuses at College Park, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Princess Anne, Towson, Salisbury, Bowie, ...
's Board of Regents in 2007, where he served until June 30, 2015. He was replaced by Robert R. Neall whom McMillen had defeated for Congress in 1986. In September 2015, McMillen was selected to lead the
Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...
Athletic Directors’ Association as it moved from Dallas to Washington, D.C. He remains President and Chief Executive Officer of the renamed Lead1 Association, now advocating for athletic directors at
Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). A ...
universities.


Personal life

McMillen is married to Dr. Judith Niemyer. The couple have lived in
Fauquier County, Virginia Fauquier is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,972. The county seat is Warrenton. Fauquier County is in Northern Virginia and is a part of the Washington metropolitan area. History In 1 ...
since 2010.


Election history


References


External links

* * * * * * National Foundation of Sports, Fitness and Nutrition. nationalfitnessfoundation.org
C. Thomas McMillen papers
at the
University of Maryland libraries The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library in the Washington, D.C. - Baltimore area. The university's library system includes eight libraries: six are located on the College Park campus, while the Severn Library, an o ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:McMillen, Tom 1952 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American athlete-politicians American men's basketball players American Rhodes Scholars Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players at the 1972 Summer Olympics Basketball players from New York (state) Buffalo Braves draft picks Buffalo Braves players Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland Maryland Terrapins men's basketball players University of Maryland, College Park alumni Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees New York Knicks players Olympic silver medalists for the United States in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Crofton, Maryland People from Mansfield, Pennsylvania Politicians from Elmira, New York Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Elmira, New York Virginia Squires draft picks Washington Bullets players