Hall of Fame
Position: Coach
Years: North Texas (1979-80), Texas Tech (1981-85), Appalachian State (1989-2012)
Place of Birth: Bonham, Texas
Date of Birth: July 18, 1939
The winningest coach in both Southern Conference and Appalachian State history, Jerry Moore became the first coach to lead a team to three consecutive FCS national championships, guiding the Mountaineers to titles from 2005-07.
After coaching stints at North Texas and Texas Tech, Moore moved to Appalachian State in 1989, and he finished his impressive career with 242 victories en route to becoming the 16th-winningest coach in Division I (FBS and FCS) history. The only coach to win AFCA National Coach of the Year honors in three consecutive seasons, he led his teams to 18 FCS postseason appearances, and he won a record 13-straight postseason games in contiguous years (2005-08). Moore claimed Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors eight times while leading the Mountaineers to 10 Southern Conference championships, including six straight from 2005-10.
Moore led the Mountaineers to one of the most memorable upsets in college football history, topping No. 5 Michigan at the start of the 2007 season. The win earned Appalachian State the distinction as first FCS team to ever top a nationally-ranked FBS opponent, and the signature victory helped them become the first FCS team in history to receive votes in the final AP poll. Moore finished his career with a 242-135-2 record, winning 64.1 percent of his games.
At Appalachian State Moore coached 2011 College Football Hall of Fame linebacker Dexter Coakley, the only two-time winner of the Walter Payton Award Armanti Edwards (2008 and 2009) and NFF National Scholar-Athletes Donald Campbell (1992) and Tony Washington (2013). He also coached Hall of Fame defensive tackle Gabe Rivera while at Texas Tech.
The 2006 Eddie Robinson Award winner and 2009 Liberty Mutual FCS Coach of the Year was inducted into the Southern Conference Hall of Fame in 2014. Moore is enshrined in the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. A former team captain at Baylor, the Bonham, Texas, native now serves as a guest speaker at events throughout the South.
