The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Moore completes Women's Tennis coaching era at Texas
06.22.2005 | Women's Tennis
AUSTIN, Texas -- After completing his 23rd season coaching the successful University of Texas women's tennis team, head coach Jeff Moore announced Wednesday (June 23) he is stepping away from the position to pursue other employment opportunities. A search for his successor begins immediately.
Moore has two years remaining on his coaching contract. When UT names the new head coach, Moore will assist the UT Athletics fund-raising area as an assistant to Chris Plonsky, Texas Women's Athletics Director. Future projects UT Athletics is reviewing at this time include indoor tennis courts, renovation of baseball's Disch-Falk Field, expansion of the west side interior and north end zone of the football stadium, an outdoor pool-diving complex, and a student-athlete academic services area.
Moore, 53, led Texas to four NCAA National Championship matches (1992, 1993, 1995 and in 2005), while winning the NCAA team titles in 1993 and 1995. His Longhorns also made three other national semifinal (final four) showings in 1990, 1994 and 1997. Moore leaves UT as the second all-time winningest women's tennis coach in Division I history. In his 28-year head coaching tenure, Moore registered a record of 594-208, for a .741 winning percentage. His Texas coaching mark from 1983 through 2005 was 506-153 (.768). He is one of only four active coaches in collegiate women's tennis to accumulate more than 500 career victories.
In this span, he led the Longhorns to 10 top-five NCAA finishes, including this year's NCAA Championship runner-up showing when his squad went 25-6 in dual-match play. Texas, seeded No. 11 entering the 2005 NCAAs, advanced to the 2005 NCAA National Championship match by posting three consecutive upset victories (over No. 6 Georgia Tech, No. 3 Kentucky and No. 2 Florida in the semifinals) before falling to No. 1 and undefeated Stanford in the title match.
"The tennis program is in a very good place right now, and I feel this is the appropriate time to step aside and seek a new challenge," Moore said. "I appreciate that The University is honoring the last two years of my contract and I look forward to my new opportunities. I am really looking forward to jumping in and assisting with any fund-raising initiatives that UT presents me with, and am looking to contribute as much as I can. It has been a great privilege to coach the last 23 years at The University of Texas. At some point, I will be exploring other employment opportunities both within and outside the sports world. This is a very exciting time for myself and my family."
Moore's Longhorn teams dominated Southwest Conference (SWC) and Big 12 Conference competition. Under Moore's guidance, the Longhorns earned 11 of 14 SWC regular season championships and claimed nine consecutive SWC Tournament titles (1988-95). Since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996, the Longhorns have won seven regular season championships (1997-2002 and 2004) and seven Big 12 tournament titles (1997-2002 and 2005). Since entering the Big 12 Conference in 1996, Moore's Texas teams have compiled an impressive 84-4 record in league play - a 95.5 winning percentage.
"We cannot thank Jeff Moore enough for his contributions to intercollegiate tennis," Plonsky noted. "Since arriving at UT in 1982, Jeff has understood from the very beginning what The University of Texas is all about - aspiring to excellence and to a high level of competitiveness. Jeff's teams have always represented these characteristics. The young women in his program have always shown excellence in academics as well and have gone on to be highly successful individuals."
"Jeff's efforts have reflected the true values of Texas. He has been accorded the highest individual honor that UT Women's Athletics can bestow - induction into the UT Women's Athletics Hall of Honor," Plonsky continued. "Simply put, Jeff Moore has put a stamp on not only our Texas women's tennis program, but on the sport of intercollegiate tennis, which will last a long time. We are so appreciative of the years of service and dedication that he has given to the UT Athletics program."
Moore's tennis players have defined excellence on and off the courts. Nineteen of his Longhorn student-athletes have earned All-America honors a total of 44 times and 13 Conference Player of the Year awards.
Academically, the UT tennis players have earned 10 Academic All-America honors and 44 Academic All-Conference honors, including 24 first-team Academic All-Big 12 accolades. Additionally, 13 of Moore's former UT players have gone on to play professional tennis.
Moore arrived in Austin in the spring of 1982 from the University of Colorado and led the tennis squad to the NCAA Championships every year. Texas' 1993 squad astounded the women's tennis world by becoming the lowest seeded team ever (at No. 5) to win the NCAA title as a 5-3 victory over No. 2 Stanford gave the women's tennis program its first NCAA crown.
Two years later, Moore's 1995 team once again defied the odds, staging the biggest comeback in the history of the NCAA Championships. Seeded second, the Longhorns met top-ranked Florida in the title match and trailed 4-2 after singles play before sweeping all three doubles points for a 5-4 victory to claim their second NCAA title.
Named National Coach of the Year in 1993, Moore earned Southwest Region Coach of the Year honors six times and was voted SWC Coach of the Year on eight occasions (1983-85, '87, '89, 1992-93 and 1995). Furthermore, since the start of the Big 12 Conference in 1997, Moore has been named co-Big 12 Coach of the Year and tri-Big 12 Coach of the Year in 1997 and 1999, respectively. He was inducted into the UT Women's Athletics Hall of Honor in 2002.
Moore also is the former chairman of the NCAA Men's and Women's Tennis Committee and a past member of the Board of Directors of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
Born in Cambridge, Mass., Moore earned his bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Redlands (Calif.) in 1974 and later received his masters in education from Texas in 1990.
It was at his alma mater, University of Redlands, where Moore began his coaching career as head tennis and basketball coach. After a two-year stint with the Bulldogs, Moore headed to the University of Colorado, where he led the Buffaloes to national prominence for four seasons prior to taking over the Texas program in 1982.
Moore resides in Austin with his wife, Lucy. They have two sons, Tim, 21, a senior at George Washington University, and Andy, 16, a junior at St. Stephen's School.
The Jeff Moore File
Full Name: Jeffrey Alan Moore
Date of Birth: May 22, 1952
Hometown: Cambridge, Mass.
High School: Holland Hall School (Tulsa, Okla.)
College: University of Redlands '74
Career record: 594-208 (.741) - 28 years
Record at Texas: 506-153 (.768) - 23 years
Coaching Honors
• No. 2 in Division I women's tennis all-time victories (594)
• 1999 tri-Big 12 Coach of the Year
• 1997 Co-Big 12 Coach of the Year
• 1993 National Coach of the Year
• Six-time Southwest Region Coach of the Year
• Eight-time Southwest Conference Coach of the Year
Team Accomplishments
• 1993 & 1995 NCAA National Champions
• NCAA National Champion runner-up (1992, 2005)
• 10 top-5 NCAA finishes (1984, 1990, 1992-98, 2005)
• Seven-time Big 12 Conference regular-season champions (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001*, 2002, 2004 [*co-champions])
• Seven-time Big 12 Conference Tournament champions (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005)
• Won 11 of 14 Southwest Conference regular season championships
• Won nine consecutive SWC Tournament titles (1988-95)
Student-Athlete Accomplishments
• 19 All-Americans
• 10 Academic All-America honors
• 13 have gone on to professional tennis careers
• 13 Conference Players of the Year awards
• 44 Academic All-Conference honorees
• 13 First Team Academic All-Big 12 Conference honorees
• Eight Academic All-Southwest Conference honorees
Winningest Active Division I Women's Tennis Coaches (as of June 2005) Name Years W L Pct. Lin Loring, Indiana 32 660 232 .740 Jeff Moore, Texas 28 594 208 .741 Jan Brogan, California 27 501 205 .710 Gualberto Escudero, Pepperdine 27 499 255 .662 Jay Louderback, Notre Dame 25 486 324 .600All-Time Victories by Division I Women's Tennis Coaches Name Years W L Pct. Lin Loring, Indiana 32 660 232 .740 Jeff Moore, Texas 28 594 208 .741 Frank Brennan, Stanford 21 510 50 .911 Jim Schwitters, Hawaii 26 507 200 .720
