Women’s basketball pioneer Billie Moore has died aged 79

CNN
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Billie Moore — the head coach of the US women’s premier Olympic basketball team, the first head coach to lead two schools to national women’s basketball championships, and a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame — died Wednesday at the age of 79.

Her death was announced by UCLA, where she led the Bruins to an Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women and Naismith Hall of Fame national championship on Thursday.

UCLA’s athletics department said Moore had been battling multiple myeloma, a cancer of plasma cells that suppresses the body’s immune response, and that she died at her home in Fullerton, California surrounded by family and friends.

“Billie Moore was a trailblazer as a head coach and was one of a very small group of individuals who laid the foundation for where women’s basketball is today,” said John L. Doleva, president and CEO of the Naismith Hall of Fame. “Her impact on the basketball community knows no bounds and she will be missed by the entire Hall of Fame family.”

Moore, who coached UCLA from 1977 to 1993, holds the record for most wins (296) by a basketball head coach in program history.

Before coaching UCLA, Moore was the head coach of the 1976 US Olympic women’s basketball team. With players like Pat Summitt, Ann Meyers Drysdale, Lusia Harris and Nancy Lieberman, Moore led Team USA to a silver medal at the Montreal Summer Games.

USA Basketball honors the life and legacy of Billie Moore, who was the first female coach of the US Olympic Women’s 1976 and led USA to a silver medal.

Her eventful career spanned four decades. We are proud to have been part of their journey. Our thoughts are with their loved ones at this time. pic.twitter.com/EsLllxRWo9

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) December 15, 2022

Born in Westmoreland, Kansas, Moore also led Cal State Fullerton to a national title in 1970. In 1999 she was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

“One of the things I thought about when I got the call was that I’d be assigned to coach a team sport,” she said at her inauguration. “And when you’re in a team sport, you’re not here for something you did yourself. It is evident that this award is shared with many people who have played a very important role over the years and it belongs to many people.”

She credited her father for giving her the love and passion for the game. She told the audience that she had hoped her career would not be based on wins and losses but on the lifelong friends she made on the pitch.

Overall, Moore compiled a college record 436-196 for a .690 win percentage.

Women’s Basketball Coaches Association executive director Danielle Donehew said Moore was a giant who paved the way for other women coaches.

“Most importantly, Billie was a teacher who continued to share her knowledge with former student athletes and peers like Pat Summitt, her mentee, long after Billie retired as a coach,” she said.

“I met Billie while working for Pat and I will forever cherish her wisdom and sense of humor. Billie’s impact on our sport survives through the multitude of lives she has touched, including mine.”