Banners, Tassels, Celebrations: TCC Athletic Director Chuck Moore making strides in second year

It's been a year since Tallahassee Community College Director of Athletics Chuck Moore arrived to put his stamp on the landscape of Eagle sports.

And his heart hasn't wavered since moving away from his home state of Virginia to complete his mission of enhancing and overseeing TCC's athletics' eight sports teams (men and women) and approximately 100 student-athletes.

"God put me here for a reason and I'm blessed to be here," Moore said. "It's like riding a quite exhilarating roller coaster ― some really high and low moments and a lot of teaching moments.

"I'm enjoying the way things operate down here and (Tallahassee) has been so embracing of me and what I'm trying to do with TCC athletics. Hopefully, the vision, values, and culture that I'm trying to develop here will be something that's sustainable."

Moore, 47, accepted the TCC job in December 2021, replacing former AD Rob Chaney. Chaney left to become the Associate Director and Athletics Commissioner for the Florida College System Activities Association.

Moore previously worked at Richard Bland College in Virginia as the director of athletics and head men's basketball coach.

In fact, Moore led the revival of the school’s athletics program during his tenure and directed the basketball team to a 122-38 record and its first-ever NJCAA title in 2015.

Becoming TCC's director of athletics is his first non-coaching job of his career.

"It's a big change, but it's allowing me to instill the culture and values and be the visionary for this department with more of a clearer mind," Moore said. "It was very difficult to flip the switch from to go from AD to basketball coach at Richard Bland.

"It taught me a lot of management and developing skills because there was no athletics at Richard Bland. I learned all of that in a program that I was able to put my stamp on in every aspect and I'm carrying some of those processes into TCC to keep pushing us forward.

"I still have the itch (to coach) all the time, but now I have to find ways to think like a coach, but lead as an athletic director. We have a great coaching staff from top to bottom, so my job is just to give them tools to attract the best student-athletes and hopefully win games."

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Still fairly new to Tallahassee, Moore wants to build relationships with fellow AD's in town

Moore caught the tail end of the Mike McLeod era ― former Eagles baseball coach who recorded over 1,000 wins during his career.

McLeod also briefly served as the school's director of athletics from 2001-2002. Moore credited McLeod for helping him make the transition to TCC.

"He was the most welcoming to me," Moore said. "Knowing that he was on his way out, he still embraced me and tried to help me navigate in town and on campus because he's been here.

"I'll always be indebted to him for that and cherish those short times."

Moore says Chaney has also been a big help as he adjusts to the area.

Now, Moore wants to strengthen the connection with local university athletic directors ― Michael Alford of Florida State and Florida A&M interim director of athletics Michael Smith as Tiffani-Dawn Sykes starts the job in January.

"I've met Michael Smith and Michael Alford," Moore said.

"I definitely want to build those relationships with both of them and their staff. I'm always up for learning and try to see what they're doing. Maybe there's a way that we can partner on certain stuff to just help all of our programs."

Moore has solidified his staff and put projects in motion

Last summer, Moore was tasked with filling two head coaching positions within Eagles athletics.

First, he hired Mercedes Corona to become the new women's basketball coach in June.

Then, Moore brought on former FSU baseball All-American pitcher Bryan Henry to replace the retired McLeod in early July.

He's also hired nine full-time staff members during his tenure.

"All those searches were very deliberate and I was very diligent in what I was looking for because I know what we need as a college," Moore said. "I think everybody that we've hired have been top notch and are buying into the culture and values that need here to change our student athlete's lives."

In January, TCC baseball's Wayne and Betty Edwards Family Fieldhouse was upgraded with new lockers, carpet, and sofas for the players to lounge.

Now, Moore is leading TCC athletics in a capital campaign to renovate all of the school's athletic facilities.

"We're trying to really drum up that support to do the renovations and sustain those facilities," Moore said. "We want to be able to attract the top student-athletes the way the Panhandle Conference does.

"Hopefully, we can build the local support between our local community and alumni base, so we can constantly do those changes. Right now, we still need to raise a significant amount of money and we need the community support in that.

"So, those renovations should all start in the spring between Lifetime Sports and all of the baseball, softball complexes."

TCC basketball men's coach Rick Cabrera has watched Moore make an exerted effort to build the Eagles' athletic programs while providing support for coaching staffs.

"Chuck has shown a great amount of support for all athletics," he said. "He's displayed innovative and creative ways while forming his culture and vision for the future of Tallahassee athletics."

Big, but attainable expectations for TCC sports teams from Moore

Last season, TCC men's basketball reached the FCSAA Division I State/NJCAA District state quarterfinals. The baseball team got to the FCSAA/NJCAA South Atlantic District tournament.

As the new AD last year, Moore observed the teams to see where could help them prosper.

"I just sat back and assessed how things were operated and where I can make the certain maneuvers some change to follow what I envision for us," he said.

Moore's expectation is for the programs to compete every season for years to come — especially once they invest in upgraded facilities for the teams.

"I feel like we should compete for championships every single year," Moore said. "There's no excuse for us not to once we do the renovations and we have the tools.

"We also want to graduate our student-athletes. That's the bottom line expectation."

Moore wants to see an uptake in Tallahassee community and alumni support

Moore feels like he has something special brewing at TCC.

But without the support of the Big Bend and TCC alumni and supporters, his vision is less likely to materialize.

Moore is calling on the all those that are currently or formerly affiliated with the institution.

"Everywhere I go, I meet somebody different that is associated with TCC and almost all of them emphasize the positive experienced that they had," he said. "We're needing directly athletic support and our donor base is near to non-existent.

"So, one of our goals is to build up our engagement and allow the community and our alumni to see the value in what our athletics does because it's something to be reckon with."

Eagles basketball will receive welcomed exposure in two weeks as the team competes in ESPN+'s NJCAA Game of the Week against Daytona State College on Monday, Dec. 19, at 6 p.m.

Moore is offering the first 100 fans to attend the game free entry to support the Eagles by wearing royal blue.

Raffles and prizes will also be given out during the game.

"Tallahassee is an amazing sports town," Moore said. "If the community start coming out to see what we have to offer, they're going to get hooked by seeing how good we are.

"All of our programs are winners and you're seeing high-level players. I would love to see the community come out and support us, not just financially, but also physically in the bleachers because I promise these student-athletes will appreciate it."

Gerald Thomas III covers FAMU athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at gdthomas@gannett.com or on Twitter @3peatgee.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: TCC Athletics: AD Chuck Moore enters second year with high expectations