NC State Director of Athletics Deborah A. Yow announced today that Wes Moore has been hired as NC State’s new head women’s basketball coach. An introductory press conference will be held Monday, at a time and place to be determined.
Moore spent the past 15 seasons as the head coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) where he led the Lady Mocs to 12 Southern Conference (SoCon) regular season titles, nine SoCon tournament championships, and nine NCAA Tournament berths, while becoming the winningest coach in UTC and SoCon history. He is the reigning SoCon Coach of the Year, an award he has earned on six separate occasions.
In the 2012-13 campaign, Moore guided the Lady Mocs to the SoCon regular season and tournament titles, equaled the best win total in school history at 29-4, and knocked off an NCAA Elite Eight Tennessee Lady Vols squad by a score of 80-71 in the regular season. The Lady Mocs posted a 19-1 conference mark and closed out the regular season on a 19-game win streak, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
In 24 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Moore has posted a 558-169 overall record and taken 16 of his teams to their respective NCAA Tournament. His .767 career winning percentage puts him in the NCAA Top 10 among active Division I head coaches as well as among the all-time winningest coaches with 10 or more years of coaching experience at the Division I level. He has won 10 total conference and WBCA District Coach of the Year honors.
He is the only coach in history to advance three different teams to the NCAA Tournament at the Division I, II, and III levels.
“Coach Moore is a special coach and a terrific person,” said Yow. “He has an impressive ability to rebuild programs. Quite simply, Wes wins no matter where he has coached. With the additions of Notre Dame, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Syracuse, the ACC will clearly be the premiere women’s basketball conference in the nation. NC State is determined to return to the upper tier of our league, and, over time, Coach Moore and his staff will achieve that goal for us. Additionally, his teams have excelled academically, and we share that value.”
Moore’s Lady Mocs squads have recorded perfect 1000 single-year NCAA Academic Progress Rates (APR) in three of the last four reporting periods and Graduation Success Rates (GSR) above 75% for the last four cohort periods.
“I am humbled and proud to be back at NC State, and to be a part of returning this storied program to prominence,” said Moore. “The great tradition and history of Wolfpack Women’s Basketball make it one of the best places in the country to coach and play. Debbie Yow has a reputation for building successful athletic departments that win, while also preparing student-athletes to have productive lives long after their college careers are over. I’m very thankful for this great opportunity and can’t wait to get started. Go Pack!“
From 1993-95, Moore served as women’s basketball assistant coach at NC State under legendary head coach Kay Yow. During that time, the Wolfpack went 34-24 and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. His other head coaching stops include Maryville College (Division III) and Francis Marion (Division II).
