”The HBCU Guru”
1948-2022
BULL CITY BEGINNINGS
Eric Moore’s hometown of Durham, North Carolina provided a unique perspective when he was growing up. Still living under the laws of segregation, the city had a very (politically) active black community and during his youth, Moore didn’t have to look far for inspiration or validation.
“I got to see people who looked like me do everything in the world,” Moore said. “There were vibrant examples of Black success all around me.”
Black owned and operated businesses like Page’s Grocery Store and Weaver’s Cleaners had a very special place in Moore’s childhood experiences. Stanford-Warren Library where his mother Onnie worked as a librarian (her picture still graces the wall), was more than a building with books. It often served as a meeting place for community organizations.
You know, pre-internet when libraries were THE SOURCE of everything.
There were black banks, a black insurance company, a black institution of higher learning, North Carolina College (now North Carolina Central) and the pre-integration, all-Black Hillside High School.
“Having all that around me, I got to live the possible. There was very little I would experience later that I could not find a mentor or someone who was aware of things from a different, positive perspective.”
At one point Moore’s father, Daniel, served as the Dean of the School of Library Science at North Carolina College. He was also very active on the Durham Committee (on Negro Affairs), an organization whose meetings included a gathering the night before elections to discuss issues that affected the community and draft a suggested ballot. The Committee organized in such a way that voters’ rights were always protected and kept at the forefront.
“The fact that both my parents were in what is now known as information services, it began to shape my thoughts in terms of information, the value of it and how knowledge is power,” he said.
Moore’s father served on the school board and provided an early look at gerrymandering.
“We would drive through neighborhoods and see where school districts lines were drawn to assure that Blacks and Whites went to separate schools. That’s when I began to understand favoritism in the system.”
Moore would have his first experience with the CIAA when the basketball tournament was held at McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium on the campus of North Carolina College in the mid-1950s.
BLAZING THE TRAIL
Moore was introduced to statistics when his junior high basketball coach, who was also his neighbor, pulled him aside after practice. He informed Moore that even if he made the team he would not play much. Coach then told him he wanted him to stay on with the team and handle the team statistics.
“He told me I was the only one he trusted and was responsible enough to handle it.”
It wasn’t the first time someone Moore looked up to would give him a push to reach his maximum potential. He lists CIAA Hall of Famer and former Fayetteville State Athletics Director JD Marshall and Norfolk State’s legendary Sports Information Director John Holley as mentors.
“I worked under JD Marshall during my time at FSU and he was always very supportive of my efforts giving me significant insight into athletic administration. John Holley knew my parents so he took a special interest in me. He was a class act and I always admired the way he organized and ran the NSU Sports Information department.”
After 21 years, Moore retired from the UNC system and would devote his full time and energy to ONNIDAN. Since then, he has logged countless hours and miles to cover sporting events, mostly on behalf of HBCUs. Across the SWAC, CIAA, MEAC and SIAC, Moore has been a mainstay behind the scenes, courtside and in press boxes across the country providing live coverage online for media and fans.
RADIO DAYS
Moore spent four years as a member of the faculty at Ohio University in radio/television production before finding his way back to a station, first working at WCIN in Cincinnati as the Assistant General Manager. WCIN was owned by Ragan Henry, the first black man to own a network television station and one of the pioneers on broadcast media who would later own more than 60 radio stations nationwide. He spent some time at the corporate headquarters in Philadelphia learning the business of media management on a national scale.
Moore would later work in radio sales including stops at two other stations owned by Henry, WGIV in Charlotte and WERD in Jacksonville, Florida. He also worked at WAAA in Winston-Salem owned by Mutter Evans, the second African-American woman to own a radio station
“I seemed to have a connection with Black media pioneers (Henry and Evans) and I cherish the insight that each one provided.”
He began another phase of his career in 1984 when he was hired to be Director of Communication at Fayetteville State .
“Soon after I arrived I noticed a 100,000 watt radio station as well as a television production facility and immediately began to brainstorm on how these resources were or were not being utilized. The radio station had a solid reputation in the community but the production facility wasn’t being used.”
Sports information was one of the areas that Moore supervised, so he began using his media experiences to develop methods of promoting the University through its athletics programs. He also started implementing computer networking to the Telecommunications Center in coordination with the school’s IT department.
Around this time, FSU reorganized the activities of the Telecommunication Center and Moore was assigned to continue as a member of the faculty, giving up the title of Sports Information Director. During his time as SID, Moore would work with Marion Crowe who would later become his successor and become one of the most beloved media professionals in the history of the CIAA. Crowe, who had returned to complete his degree at FSU, had a knack for archiving and served as the manual statistician for all Bronco Athletic events.
“Back then we used a Commodore 64 with two touch pads to score games,” laughs Moore. “This would be around the time that the infancy ideas of what would later become ONNIDAN were born.”
WHAT’S IN A NAME
ONNIDAN was the first of its kind; a one stop online shop for all things HBCU sports related. It provided updates for games, features and the first and perhaps the most popular message board where HBCU fans could network and interact.
Many years before its inception Moore teamed up with LeCounte Conway and Wallace Dooley to create what was called the CDM Plan. It was established to provide support for Sports Information Departments using computers, which a lot of schools had yet to invest in. CDM (letters taken from their last names) would keep statistics for home events (primarily basketball).
“In later years, it was a running joke between the three of us that I was the one who, because of where I was in my career, had the time to devote to that plan which would evolve into what ONNIDAN would become.”
The name is of a special meaning to Moore, as it is a combination of the two who loved him first, his mom (Onnie) and dad (Daniel).
“As the scripture goes, Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee,” Moore said. “As an only child, it is one of the ways I pay tribute to them.”
The internet was still in its infancy but Moore was keenly aware that changes were coming on the horizon and he knew there was a something missing that could serve the HBCU landscape.
BRINGING INFORMATION TO THE MASSES
At a CIAA tournament in the early 90’s, a former college classmate of Moore’s who worked for BET, invited him to Jackson, Mississippi to assist with the production of a football clash between rivals Southern University and Jackson State. At the time, Moore served as the Director of Communications at Fayetteville State University, where he oversaw the News Bureau, Public Relations, the Telecommunications Center and the Sports Information Department.
Moore looked over the crowd of 60,000 people packed in Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium to watch the Tigers and Jaguars do battle in a regular season game.
“Then it just came over me. While I was amazed at the size of the crowd, my mind immediately thought, what about the people who aren’t here,” Moore said. “They deserve to have access to the information if they weren’t able to make it to the game.”
Remember this was before the days of social media and getting regional much less national coverage was uncommon for the HBCU landscape. There was a market and Moore was ready to tap into it.
WELCOME TO THE WOLFPACK
While it is easy to associate Moore with HBCUs and assume that he is a graduate of one of the many storied institutions, just the opposite is the case. He completed his undergraduate matriculation at North Carolina State and earned a Master’s at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.
“I had the foundation that basically gave me the confidence to succeed, yet not be swayed or led to believe that HBCUs weren’t good enough or didn’t have a purpose and place in society.”
As for how he found his way to NC State, well, his guidance counselor basically told him: “that’s where you are going.”
Moore laughs at the memory.
“What you have to realize is integration was on the horizon and with that, opportunities were becoming available. I enjoyed math and loved building things so engineering was a strong interest for me,” Moore said.
NC State would be an ideal fit for several reasons, most importantly to remain close to home and his mother after his father passed during his sophomore year in high school.
“I represented one of the early non-white entrants into NC State and I would be able to venture out, pursue my education and still be close to my mother.”
He entered his freshman year as an Electrical Engineering major and spent time working in the campus radio station. He also drew the admiration of his peers, moving up the ranks as a member of the Student Government as one of the Engineering Senators and later, using some clever PR tactics, became the first black person elected as President of the Student Senate.
“My name was an ethnically neutral, so with the support and endorsement of some of my white classmates, we put up a bunch of “Vote for Eric Moore” signs and worked a deal with the editor of the campus newspaper (located next door to the radio station) that they would only run my photo if I won the election. Which I did.”
It all worked out and with his Bull City background he was a very active member of the campus community, even securing a visit from activist Dick Gregory during his tenure.
Moore was also instrumental in helping bring Black Greek Life to the NC State campus. He and other NC State men pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (his father was an Alpha) at Shaw University (Beta Rho chapter) and under the guidance of Dr. Augustus Witherspoon of the Phi Lambda (Graduate) chapter, would later help charter the Eta Omicron chapter in April of 1971. Eta Omicron would be the first Black Greek Organization on NC State’s Campus.
While at Shaw he met Betty Jones, an AKA and big sister during his pledging days. She was majoring in Political Science at Shaw and they struck up a friendship.
Their first date later took place in the Student Center on the Shaw University campus. They married his junior year at NC State and will celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary in 2019.
While it was a time of progression and firsts, there were also some dark days during his time at NCSU. Once during his freshman year, Moore and his suitemate returned to their room to find a sign posted that read “SPONGE is out to get you”.
After conferring with some upperclassmen, it was explained that the word stood for Society for the Prevention of (N-word) Getting Everything.
“Not that I didn’t know before but it was a reminder of where I was,” Moore said. “We also had to get used to looking up after getting off elevators headed to class because they would drop water balloons on you. And as you were walking across the quad, epithets would be yelled from various buildings, but we never saw their faces. But we stuck together and we made it through.”
A BLACK MEDIA INNOVATOR
It was during his time at the campus radio station at NCSU that Moore was thrown an unforeseen curve ball. Working at the campus station meant having access to the AP Wire during the time of the two Selective Service System lotteries. And sure enough, one day he recognized the likelihood that his number (according to date of birth) would be called.
“Once it became a reality, I joined the ROTC at NC State. I figured if I was going to enter the military, I would prefer to go in as an officer.”
So, when he graduated from NCSU in 1970 with a degree in Speech Communications (he changed his major from Engineering on the advice of the ROTC instructor), Moore was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United State Air Force. After a total of four years of duty, Moore rose to the rank of Captain with stints at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois and Anderson Air Force Base in Guam.
Eric Moore is undoubtedly a trailblazer who paved the way for the coverage of Black College Sports. ONNIDAN has maintained a strong following and has had steady growth over the years for which he is thankful. His vision and groundwork laid the foundation for the likes of HBCU Gameday and other mediums and helped shape perceptions for media and fans alike.
“Like with any venture, it hasn’t been easy,” says Moore. “Being a small shop operation, I can relate to what Steven (Gaither) and Tolly (Carr), Kenn Rashad (formerly TSPNSports, now HBCUSports.com) and others do because you are always looking for good content and want to tell stories that people deserve access to. It can be challenging but very rewarding and when you see the response from the fans, it’s all worth it.”
Story courtesy of HBCU Gameday and April Emory
Listen to Power News Radio Network’s Ty Miller discuss the career of Eric Moore: