Moore to Receive Prestigious "Guardian of the Game" Award from NABC

Steve Moore

The College of Wooster’s Steve Moore will receive the same award once presented to legendary UCLA coach John Wooden at this weekend’s AT&T Guardians of the Game Awards Show, the centerpiece of the National Association of Basketball Coaches convention, which coincides with the NCAA Div. I Final Four in San Antonio, Texas.

The NABC will bestow Moore with its “Guardian of the Game” award for education. Since 2002, the coaches’ organization has annually presented four of its members with “Guardian of the Game” recognition, one for each of its core values – education, advocacy, leadership, and service.

“On behalf of myself, the department of physical education, athletics, and recreation, and The College of Wooster, I extend congratulations to Steve,” stated Wooster athletic director Keith Beckett. “His commitment to professional growth and study of basketball, and subsequent ability to teach all components of the game to players, colleagues, and coaches on all levels is of the highest level. It is an honor to have such an excellent professional as part of our team and campus community.”

The “Guardian of the Game” honor adds to Moore’s ever-growing list of accomplishments. He’s been a seven-time North Coast Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and four-time NABC Great Lakes District Coach of the Year while leading Wooster to a 490-113 record (.813) over the last 21 seasons. Under Moore’s leadership, the Fighting Scots have won a league-high 11 NCAC championships, including each of the last four, and reached the NCAA Div. III Tournament 16 times, highlighted by runs to the national semis in both 2003 and 2007. Following the 2002-03 season, he was voted Ohio College Basketball Coach of the Year, an award coordinated and sponsored by the Columbus Dispatch.

Prior to coming to Wooster, which currently owns the highest winning percentage of any NCAA team (regardless of division) during the 2000s with a 232-38 mark (.859), Moore had a successful six-year stint at Muhlenberg College. All together, he owns a career record of 577-178 (.764), which ranks him second in winning percentage and eighth in total victories among coaches in Div. III history.

In addition to his success on the court, Moore is a member of the prestigious NCAA rules committee, the NABC Congress, and the NABC ethics committee, and the Wooster basketball program holds several community service initiatives each year. Included among those are basketball skills’ clinics for local youth, fundraisers for Coaches vs. Cancer as well as encouraging fans to donate food and clothing in lieu of admission at its two annual tournaments, which benefits People-to-People ministry and Goodwill Industries, and participation in the NABC Dream to Read program with local elementary schools.

Wooden, who helped lead UCLA to 10 national championships, was the inaugural winner in the education category six years ago, while another noteworthy winner, in terms of local interest, was former Muskingum College coach Jim Burson.