For two decades, Scott Miller was the voice of Bison athletics. This stretch ended in February, when Miller passed away after fighting a four-year-long battle with melanoma.

Now, after death, former colleagues of Miller are building an endowment through North Dakota State University’s Foundation and Alumni Association.

“What could we do to keep Scott’s legacy alive,” Daryl Ritchison, an NDSU employee and friend of Miller, said. He added that a scholarship at NDSU would be a way where students in 15-to-20 years winning a scholarship will ask, “Who is this person?” and can learn and carry on Miller’s legacy. Kevin Kessler, Miller’s spotter for football games and a “very close friend,” said that the scholarship is to help students pursue a career and dream of broadcasting as Miller did, with aims of giving at least $1,000 to a student every year.

For students to qualify for the scholarship, they must be pursuing a career in broadcasting or journalism, with preference going to North Dakotan residents first, as Miller was born and raised in Minot, N.D.

Ritchison said the goal is to raise $30,000 for the endowment fund through donations from the community. He also said the group has reached the minimum amount of money required, being $15,000.

“Hopefully something that will still be there 30, 40, 50 years from now,” Ritchison said. “If we get a thousand people to give up 20 dollars … that adds up very, very quickly.”

Kessler said that the creation of the endowment fund is to carry on Scott’s legacy, the type of persona he carried and the way he enunciated.

“He had so many great phrases and funny quips,” Kessler said, adding, “every broadcast was its own live production.”

Kessler said that Miller was “the most genuine, heartfelt man … He wouldn’t even hurt a fly.”

Miller began play-by-play coverage of the Bison in 1996 while working for WDAY, and later moved to covering the Herd on KFGO in 2010, NDSU Athletics reported.

“I believe, honestly, that he could have easily gone and (broadcasted) the Twins or the Vikings or whoever as a broadcaster, but he chose to stay in this market,” Kessler said.

Kessler also said that “Scott wanted to entertain listeners to know there were great athletes on both sides of the ball.”

Ritchison said people in western N.D. who had not had the opportunity to go to a Bison game had Miller, who was “their way of being at the game.”

Miller will be inducted into the NDSU Hall of Fame over this year’s homecoming ceremonies.

Miller also was the voice of the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, since 2006.

Miller spent much of his life and career in North Dakota. Before sportscasting for NDSU, Miller was a sportscaster for the University of North Dakota.

Those wishing to donate to the endowment fund may visit ndsualumni.com.