Photo by: Jesus Ramirez
Billie Moore, Legendary UCLA Women’s Basketball Coach, Dies at 79
December 15, 2022 | Women's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – Billie Moore, who was at the forefront of growing women's basketball nationally and internationally, died Wednesday night; she was 79 years old. Moore died in her Fullerton, Calif., home surrounded by friends and family after a lengthy battle with multiple myeloma.
In life and on the court, Moore was a woman of immense integrity. She was a champion for women in sports, Director of Basketball Operations Pam Walker '85 called her "a true trailblazer and pioneer of Title IX," on top of her coaching accolades. Walker coached alongside Moore as an assistant starting in 1990 until Moore gave up the Bruin reins.
Moore was at the helm for the Bruins from 1977-1993, leading UCLA to an AIAW national championship in 1978. Moore still holds the record for most wins by a women's basketball head coach in UCLA history (296 wins) after her 16-year stint with the Bruins. In her career, Moore totaled 436 wins to just 196 losses (.690 winning percentage). On February 22, 1991, Moore became the eighth women's Division I college basketball head coach with 400 wins after defeating the University of Oregon on their home court in Eugene.
"It is hard to put into the words the depth of Billie Moore's impact," said The Michael Price Family UCLA Head Women's Basketball Coach Cori Close. Close recalls receiving a phone call from her father driving down to UCLA when she was a student-athlete at UC Santa Barbara. 'Do you know who you are about to play against? Billie Moore was our first Olympic women's basketball coach, she is a legend,' Close remembers her father saying. " I am keenly aware that I get to walk on the trail that Billie Moore blazed. A truly remarkable life well lived," said Close.
Before coming to Westwood, Moore was the head coach for the first-ever Olympic women's basketball team for the US in the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, developing players like Pat Summitt, Ann Meyers Drysdale and Nancy Lieberman. She and Summitt grew close after their silver-medal efforts together in Canada. The late-Tennessee Lady Vols head coach was quoted as saying, "Billie Moore has had more influence on my coaching career than anyone. She was my mentor. She's had a huge impact on my coaching style."
The Westmoreland, Kan., native was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. Moore was the first head coach to lead two schools to national championships in women's hoops (Cal State Fullerton – 1970; UCLA – 1978). She was named College Basketball Coach of the Year in 1978 after her title season with the Bruins and earned Conference Coach of the Year for the WCAA in 1985. Moore was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 2000.
Her reach extends far and wide in the basketball world, as a number of her mentees have gone on to successful careers in hoops. "Over the past several years, I have been grateful to see the depth of Moore's relationship with our very own, Pam Walker," said Close. "[Moore] never stopped investing in [Walker], from the time she hired Pam as an assistant coach to last week when they were getting together. So many of our alumni feel connected to Billie, and that is the ultimate compliment as a coach."
Some Bruins have followed her footsteps into the college coaching world, others have made it into the professional basketball leagues on the court and in front offices; some have gone on to pursue radio and television broadcasting, but many continue to serve their communities as Moore once taught them to do.
In life and on the court, Moore was a woman of immense integrity. She was a champion for women in sports, Director of Basketball Operations Pam Walker '85 called her "a true trailblazer and pioneer of Title IX," on top of her coaching accolades. Walker coached alongside Moore as an assistant starting in 1990 until Moore gave up the Bruin reins.
Moore was at the helm for the Bruins from 1977-1993, leading UCLA to an AIAW national championship in 1978. Moore still holds the record for most wins by a women's basketball head coach in UCLA history (296 wins) after her 16-year stint with the Bruins. In her career, Moore totaled 436 wins to just 196 losses (.690 winning percentage). On February 22, 1991, Moore became the eighth women's Division I college basketball head coach with 400 wins after defeating the University of Oregon on their home court in Eugene.
"It is hard to put into the words the depth of Billie Moore's impact," said The Michael Price Family UCLA Head Women's Basketball Coach Cori Close. Close recalls receiving a phone call from her father driving down to UCLA when she was a student-athlete at UC Santa Barbara. 'Do you know who you are about to play against? Billie Moore was our first Olympic women's basketball coach, she is a legend,' Close remembers her father saying. " I am keenly aware that I get to walk on the trail that Billie Moore blazed. A truly remarkable life well lived," said Close.
Before coming to Westwood, Moore was the head coach for the first-ever Olympic women's basketball team for the US in the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, developing players like Pat Summitt, Ann Meyers Drysdale and Nancy Lieberman. She and Summitt grew close after their silver-medal efforts together in Canada. The late-Tennessee Lady Vols head coach was quoted as saying, "Billie Moore has had more influence on my coaching career than anyone. She was my mentor. She's had a huge impact on my coaching style."
The Westmoreland, Kan., native was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. Moore was the first head coach to lead two schools to national championships in women's hoops (Cal State Fullerton – 1970; UCLA – 1978). She was named College Basketball Coach of the Year in 1978 after her title season with the Bruins and earned Conference Coach of the Year for the WCAA in 1985. Moore was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 2000.
Her reach extends far and wide in the basketball world, as a number of her mentees have gone on to successful careers in hoops. "Over the past several years, I have been grateful to see the depth of Moore's relationship with our very own, Pam Walker," said Close. "[Moore] never stopped investing in [Walker], from the time she hired Pam as an assistant coach to last week when they were getting together. So many of our alumni feel connected to Billie, and that is the ultimate compliment as a coach."
Some Bruins have followed her footsteps into the college coaching world, others have made it into the professional basketball leagues on the court and in front offices; some have gone on to pursue radio and television broadcasting, but many continue to serve their communities as Moore once taught them to do.
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