Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 5, 1995 TAG: 9504080013
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In announcing the hiring Tuesday, W&L athletic director Mike Walsh said Moore, the coach at Elmira (N.Y.) the past eight seasons, exuded the kind of energy necessary to restore W&L as a dominant basketball program in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
``We want to have a competitive program and our goal is the same as it was five years ago,'' Walsh said. ``At the end of the season, we want to be wearing the white jerseys in the ODAC tournament as one of the top four teams.''
Moore, 33, was chosen from more than 180 applicants and was one of four coaches who received campus interviews. He said he was most impressed with the overall academic quality of W&L and the tradition of its athletic programs.
``The tradition at Washington and Lee speaks for itself and the opportunity to be associated with such an institution is exciting to me,'' said Moore, who will also serve as head golf coach and teach in the physical education department.
Moore said he received an initial three-year contract, but would not divulge his salary. However, Moore did say he received a ``significant'' raise from Elmira, where he also coached golf two years.
Moore compiled a 122-93 record and had five post-season basketball appearances at Elmira, an NCAA Division III independent. The Soaring Eagles earned their first bid to the national tournament this year after a 17-9 season, but lost in the first round to Buffalo State.
Elmira won the Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament, Division III's equivalent to the NIT in upstate New York, in 1994.
Moore, a 1983 graduate of the State University of New York at Brockport, replaces Verne Canfield, who was told by W&L officials at the beginning of last season that he would not be retained as coach.
Moore said following in the footsteps of Canfield, who coached the Generals 31 seasons, was a scary prospect.
``Verne's record and tradition speaks for itself,'' Moore said. ``I can only hope to uphold such a strong basketball tradition.''
Moore, a four-year basketball letter winner at SUNY-Brockport, served as a graduate assistant at Mansifeld (Pa.) for three years while earning a master's degree in education. He was an assistant coach and assistant athletic director at Alfred (N.Y.) for one year before taking over at Elmira.
by CNB