Mal Moore
Mal M. Moore (born December 19, 1939 in Dozier, Crenshaw County, died March 30, 2013 in Durham, North Carolina) was the athletic director for the University of Alabama from 1999 to 2013. On November 23, 1999, he was hired as athletic director spending almost thirty years in other areas with the university. During his time at the university, Moore was been part of ten football National Championship teams between 1961 and 2013.
Moore, one of seven siblings, was recruited as a quarterback to Bear Bryant's first class of scholarship players in 1958 and backed up Pat Trammell during the 1961 championship season. Moore earned his bachelor's degree in sociology in 1963 and his master's degree in secondary education in 1964. He spent a year as a graduate assistant at Montana State University, then worked as a graduate assistant for Bryant before being hired as the Tide's defensive backfield coach in 1965. In 1971 he was promoted to quarterbacks coach, and assumed the role of offensive coordinator when Bama's first offensive coordinator Bud Moore took the head coaching job at Kansas University after the Orange Bowl game in January 1975. In 1977 he turned down the offer of a head coaching job at Fresno State University in California.
When Bryant retired in 1982, Moore had hoped to succeed him, but was instead fired by incoming coach Ray Perkins. He was hired by Gerry Faust at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. He was then hired by fellow Bryant-protege Gene Stallings in the National Football League's St Louis Cardinals, who moved to Phoenix, Arizona soon afterward. He followed Stallings back to Tuscaloosa as Alabama's quarterbacks coach in 1990. In 1994 Hootie Ingram hired him as an assistant athletic director for external affairs. He succeeded Bob Bockrath as Director of Athletics in 1999.
As Athletic Director, Moore was responsible for the efforts that led to the hiring of Dennis Franchione, Mike Price, Mike Shula and Nick Saban as head football coaches for the Crimson Tide. He also oversaw expansion projects at Bryant-Denny Stadium and Coleman Coliseum as well as improved facilities for other sports. Also under his tenure the football program was placed under NCAA sanctions while his department's annual budget climbed from $36 million to over $85 million. The former "football building" at the University was named the "Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility" in his honor in 2007. Moore was inducted into the 2012 class of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.
In 2009 Moore turned over day-to-day operations of the department to Dave Hart. In March 2013 he stepped down to become a special assistant to University president Judy Bonner, with Bill Battle III selected as his successor as athletic director.
Moore is a widower, having lost his wife, Charlotte, to Alzheimer's Disease in 1990. The couple had one daughter: Heather. Moore died at Duke Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina on March 30, 2013.
Preceded by: Finus Gaston |
Alabama Crimson Tide, Director of Athletics 1999–2013 |
Succeeded by: Bill Battle III |
References
- Gribble, Andrew (March 30, 2013) "Former Alabama athletic director Mal Moore passes away at 73." The Birmingham News
- Kausler, Jr, Don (September 17, 2009) "Alabama athletics director Mal Moore steps down, leaves many legacies." The Birmingham News
Eternal links
- Mal Moore bio at RollTide.com