Sixth-year Head Coach Tom Moore kept the momentum going in his fifth year at the helm of Quinnipiac University men’s basketball, guiding the Bobcats to its third consecutive national postseason appearance. Moore led the Bobcats to the 2012 CBI Invitational and their seventh straight Northeast Conference Tournament, adding to an impressive list of accomplishments thus far. 

Both on and off the court, Moore has transitioned the program into a perennial power in the Northeast Conference. Moore has guided the Bobcats to an average of 21 wins over the last three seasons, including two 20-plus win campaigns - compiling a 93-65 overall record. Just over the last three seasons alone, Quinnipiac has collected 63 wins, leaving Coach Moore with a .650 winning percentage during the stint.

Moore led Quinnipiac to an unprecedented 23 victories in 2009-10; guiding the Bobcats to the programs first-ever NEC Regular-Season Championship and national postseason tournament berth (NIT). Under Moore’s tutelage, Justin Rutty was named the program’s first-ever NEC Player of the Year. Rutty and James Feldeine were also named to the all-league first team under Moore’s direction.

A year later, Moore guided the Bobcats to a 22-10 record and a home game in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. Rutty was named to the All-NEC First Team for the third straight year, while James Johnson joined him among the league’s top five players, giving Moore back-to-back years with a pair of All-NEC First Team members.

Most recently, Moore channeled the Bobcats to an 18-14 record and a trip to the CBI Invitational Postseason Tournament. James Johnson and Ike Azotam were selected to the All-NEC Second Team, while freshman standout Ousmane Drame was named to the All-NEC Rookie Team. With Moore instructing him every step of the way, Drame became Quinnipiac’s Rookie leader in rebounds and blocked shots in his inaugural season, a promising facet in relation to Moore’s coaching philosophy.

Tom Moore At Quinnipiac

A large part of the Bobcats’ success over the past three years has been their prowess on the boards. Quinnipiac has established itself as a national power on the glass, evidenced by its consistency in three major categories. During Coach Moore’s time at Quinnipiac, the Bobcats have finished top 10 in total rebounding, offensive rebounding and rebounding margin 10 times. Most recently in 2011-12, Quinnipiac led the nation in offensive rebounding, while finishing second, only behind North Carolina, in total rebounding and rebounding margin.

In 2009-10, Quinnipiac was one of four teams – Kansas, Kentucky and Radford – to finish the year in the top 10 in the country in both rebounding margin and rebounds per game, before repeating the feat in 2010-11, joining Pittsburgh and Old Dominion. Quinnipiac finished 2009-10 behind only Michigan State (+8.6) in rebound margin at +8.5, while taking 10th in the nation in rebounds per game at 40.4.

Along with team recognition on the glass, comes individual accomplishments as well. Rutty, the NEC’s All-Time Career Rebounding Leader finished second in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (4.9) for the second consecutive year in 2009-10. Azotam, who is on pace to challenge Rutty for the top spot in NEC Rebounding, finished 15th in offensive rebounding (3.6) and 30th in total rebounding (9.5) in 2011-12.

Off the court and in the classroom, Moore led the greatest turnaround of any team in NCAA Division I during his first three years as head coach. According to a study prepared by FoxSports.com’s Jason Belzer, the Bobcats increased their Academic Progress Rate (APR), as compiled by the NCAA, by 219 points, more than any other program in the nation in that time. Over the last five years, Quinnipiac has boasted tremendous success academically among the Northeast Conference as well. At the end of the 2010-11 school year, the Bobcats accumulated the highest team GPA in the league.

In 2008-09, Moore was named the CollegeInsider.com Northeast Conference Coach of the Year after guiding Quinnipiac a fifth-place finish in the NEC standings despite a slew of injuries throughout the campaign. Quinnipiac upset No. 4 Long Island in the NEC Tournament on the Blackbirds home court before losing to eventual NEC Tournament Champion Robert Morris.

Moore also guided three players to All-NEC accolades in 2008-09. Junior James Feldeine and sophomore Justin Rutty became the first Quinnipiac duo to lead the conference in scoring and rebounding, respectively. Rutty received First Team recognition, while Feldeine was named to the Second Team and receiving the first Northeast Conference Most Improved Player Award in the league’s history. Freshman James Johnson was also named to the All-NEC Rookie Team. Landing Rutty on the first team and Johnson on the all-rookie team marked the second consecutive year that Moore had a player on each team. 

The Bobcats finished the 2007-08 season at 15-15 overall as Moore guided Quinnipiac to its first non-losing season since 2002-03. Its 11-7 mark in Northeast Conference play helped the Bobcats to a tie for fourth place in the conference standings. Under Moore’s tutelage, DeMario Anderson was named First-Team All-NEC, while Evann Baker earned All-Rookie Team recognition.

In addition to on-court honors, Moore has been consistently recognized by several members of the media for his coaching expertise. Twice now, once this past season at the Connecticut 6 Classic and once in March of 2009, he was an in-studio guest on WFAN’s “Mike’d Up” with host Mike Francesa. He was also a regular guest on ESPN Radio 1410/1300 (Hartford/New Haven), appearing on The Back Page with Jason Page every Wednesday afternoon during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. He has also been a timely guest on WICC-600’s “College Hoops Talk” with Terry O’Connor over the past five seasons as well.

A new chapter in the history of the Quinnipiac University men’s basketball program commenced on March 29, 2007, when Moore was introduced as the sixth head coach in the 56-year history of the team. Moore brought two decades of collegiate coaching experience to Quinnipiac and took over as the Bobcats coach after spending the previous 13 years as a member of the coaching staff at the University of Connecticut.

During his time in Storrs, Conn., Moore helped build UConn into a national powerhouse and played a major role in guiding the Huskies to the 1999 and 2004 NCAA Division I Men’s National Championships. Moore received accolades from several prominent sportscasters, such as Dick Vitale, Sean McDonough and Len Elmore, recognizing him as a top head coaching prospect for several years. Moore had also been mentioned by such national outlets as ESPN, Sports Illustrated and FoxSports as a candidate for a wide range of coaching positions over his final several seasons at UConn.

Under Hall of Fame head coach Jim Calhoun, Moore also helped lead perennially nationally ranked UConn to a 340-99 overall record in 13 seasons, as well as eight Big East regular-season titles, five Big East tournament crowns, and 12 straight national postseason tournament bids (1995-2006).

In his first seven years at UConn, his duties centered around the development of game strategy, practice planning and the organization of the Jim Calhoun Basketball Camp. In April 2001, Calhoun promoted Moore and his responsibilities then shifted more towards recruiting over the next three seasons. On October 10, 2005, Moore was named UConn’s associate head coach, a title he carried for his last two seasons in Storrs.

Recognized as one of the top recruiters and evaluators of talent in the country, Moore either recruited or coached numerous current NBA players including Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton, Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon, Rudy Gay, Caron Butler, Charlie Villanueva, Marcus Williams, Jake Voskuhl, Kevin Ollie, Hilton Armstrong and Josh Boone. The Huskies currently claim the fifth most active NBA players (15) of any Division I program in the country. UConn’s 2004 recruiting class, which included Villanueva, Williams and Boone, was the consensus #1 recruiting class by every major recruiting publication.

Prior to joining the staff at UConn, Moore served as the head coach at Worcester State College for five seasons (1989-94). At the time of his appointment, he became the youngest (24 years old) head coach of a collegiate program in New England. In his five years at the helm of the Lancers, Moore compiled a record of 76-59, which served, at the time, as the winningest five-year period in the school’s history. His 1992-93 club, after posting a record of 19-8, was named the region’s Most Improved Team by the New England Basketball Coaches Association and earned an ECAC Tournament berth. A year later, the 1993-94 team earned a spot in the NCAA Division III National Tournament by defeating Salem State in the MASCAC Tournament Championship Game. The tournament berth marked the first time Worcester State reached the NCAA Tournament in nearly 20 years. At Worcester State, Moore directed a high-scoring, fast-paced style of play, annually ranking WSC among the NCAA Division III leaders in scoring.

Moore also gained coaching experience as an assistant at Division II Assumption College (1988-89) and Worcester State (1987-88). During his two decades as either an assistant or head coach at the collegiate level, Moore has assembled a career mark of 441-187 (.702). Moore began his collegiate coaching career at 22 at Worcester State College under Paul Baker. His responsibilities in his first year were all encompassing including scouting, recruiting and practice planning. After one season there, he moved across town to Division II Assumption College where he worked for head coach Jack Renkens. There he was the New England Prep School recruiting coordinator and worked with the backcourt players in Renkens up-tempo, fast-paced style of play.

A 1987 graduate of Boston University, Moore was selected to his post at Quinnipiac following an exhaustive nationwide search coordinated by DHR International, a leading, privately held provider of executive search solutions with more than 40 wholly-owned offices spanning the globe. Glenn Sugiyama, DHR executive vice president and global sector leader of sports; and Pat Richter, executive vice president, education and sports practice; oversaw the process in conjunction with Val Belmonte, Quinnipiac University vice president for athletic marketing and external relations, and Jack McDonald, director of athletics at Quinnipiac.

Moore currently resides in Tolland, Conn. with his wife, Eileen, and three daughters, Elizabeth Rose, Catherine Grace, and Caroline Mary.