Moore ’90 tabbed SIAC Commissioner

Former Lions’ basketball player Greg Moore was recently named commissioner of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Words by Mark Gola

Walking alongside his father as a visiting high school senior, a wide-eyed Greg Moore ’90 absorbed the sights and sounds of then-Trenton State College. The first person he ran into that day was former athletic director Roy Van Ness, who proceeded to lead the prospective student and his dad on an impromptu tour of the campus. That moment is not only something Moore never forgot, but one that shaped his mind and purpose.

“My dad and I got in the car, drove up to the school, and walked onto the campus cold,” recalled Moore, who went on to become a Lions basketball player. “Mr. Van Ness had no idea who I was and walked me around campus as if it were his home. The pride he exuded in showing me the College was palpable. I try to carry that type of pride in what I do every day.”

This past January, Moore was named commissioner of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). The SIAC was founded in 1913 and is currently composed of 13 Division II historically black colleges and universities from five states (Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Tennessee). Moore administers conference championships in seven men’s and six women’s sports, and from a philosophical standpoint, seeks to enrich the college experience for student-athletes and advance the overarching objectives of each institution’s president.

Before accepting his new position, Moore maintained a successful law practice, The Moore Law Group, LLC in New Jersey. His practice dealt mainly in sports law representing local New Jersey athletes such as four-time Olympian Joetta Clark and 13-year NBA veteran Eric Williams in addition to serving as general counsel for the New Jersey Express of the American Basketball Association (ABA). Growing up in a sports-friendly family, Moore was driven by his passion for athletics. When the SIAC position opened, he could not pass up the opportunity to become just the fourth sitting African-American commissioner of the 74 division I, II, and III conferences in the country. (A fifth African-American commissioner has been hired since Moore’s appointment.)

“These jobs don’t come along very often,” noted Moore, who also authored a book titled Searching for Michael Jordan. “This is an opportunity to remain in sports, but also to have my participation be more hands-on. In the legal industry, you’re at more of an arms-length, focusing on agreements rather than having an actual impact on the event. This deepens my involvement and gives me a chance to make the experiences of student-athletes as rich and memorable as possible.”

For conference championship tournaments, Moore oversees every aspect of the events from start to finish. He and his staff undertake the major tasks such as selecting venues, marketing and promotion, and collaborating with television and radio broadcast as well as the taxing items like coordinating quality officials and arranging travel and hotel accommodations. Each championship is treated on equal footing, so the women’s volleyball tournament receives the same attention to detail as a football bowl game.

Moore also feels a strong responsibility to serve the objectives of each college president in the SIAC. Their mission targeting increased enrollment, generating revenue, engaging alums, maximizing the student-athlete experience, and enhancing the visibility of the institution through intercollegiate sports is one that Moore champions and pursues with vehemence. “If my efforts fail to accomplish these goals of the institutions and their presidents, I am not doing my job,” he said.

While his encounter with Van Ness was paramount in his decision to enroll at the College, there was a second choice that Moore made which he described as “seminal” in his development as a student and professional. During his sophomore year, he pledged Alpha Phi Alpha. The fraternity and its high-achieving members were critical in stimulating his ambitious nature.

“I have a deep affection for TCNJ,” Moore explained. “My experience with Alpha Phi Alpha and being around motivated students crystallized what I had to do to push myself and be involved at an executive level,” Moore said. “A lot of those members are now doctors, lawyers, and very successful businessmen. It was just a great place to learn.”