UCLA’s Moore Resigns Amid Latest Criticism

Billie Moore, who led the UCLA women’s basketball program to national prominence and coached the silver-medal winning 1976 U.S. Olympic team, resigned Wednesday after 16 years at the school.

Moore submitted her resignation as the athletic department was conducting a review of her program, prompted by a complaint filed against her in February.

The parents of reserve junior guard Detra Lockhart, alleging mental and verbal abuse by Moore, filed the complaint with Judith Holland, senior associate athletic director.

Moore, 49, who won two national championships in 24 years of coaching--one at Cal State Fullerton before she moved to UCLA--said in a prepared statement that she had been thinking about a career change for a long time and that the coaching profession had become less enjoyable over the years.

Her coaching techniques have been frequently criticized in recent seasons and although Moore would not discuss her resignation Wednesday, she had said in an interview earlier this week that she has noticed changes over the years in her players.

“I don’t know if you can push them as hard as you could 10 years ago,” she said. “I think with the players, now, you have to be a lot more patient. It’s just part of the society. The kids have changed and it’s hard to put your finger on how they’ve changed because you still get ones that work very hard and play very hard. There’s just a different level of sensitivity.”

Although Moore left with two years remaining on her contact, worth $75,000 annually, she was not expected to receive any of it.

Her record at UCLA was 296-181. This season, the Bruins were 13-14.

A search for a coach will begin immediately, but Holland said she does not have a time line for the hire.

“The position is open right now so I have to wait to see who applies and then we’ll have to go through the whole process of interviewing, and so it may be six weeks to two months, depending,” she said.

Natalie Williams, one of the nation’s best two-sport athletes, indicated that few of her contemporaries would be sorry to see Moore go. She said that Moore’s players did not respect the coach.

“I think that she gets people who are incredible athletes in her program, she has for the last 10 years, and I think she is getting minimum performance out of them,” Williams said.

Williams averaged 21.2 points and 13.5 rebounds, leading the Pacific 10 Conference in both categories in the recently concluded season, and led the Bruin volleyball team to a second-place finish in the NCAA tournament last fall.

“Billie has helped me a lot and done a lot for me and I think in return I have played well for her,” Williams said. “But I feel that other people don’t get treated the way I get treated and I think it separates our team and it hurts us in that the other players don’t feel that she has respect for them and then in return they don’t have respect for her.”

In her first season at UCLA, 1977-78, Moore led the Bruins to their only national championship, and they had high national rankings two of the next three seasons.

But since then, UCLA has slipped from national prominence. Former players have accused her of being verbally abusive and dictatorial.

During the 1989-90 season, Molly Tideback, the Pac-10 freshman of the year the previous season, left the team in midseason, saying she was tired of losing and no longer wanted to play for Moore.

Moore suggested at the time that Tideback was frustrated because she was recovering from an ankle injury and had not returned to form.

Tideback’s departure was a blow to the program, because Tideback had been expected to lead UCLA back to its former heights.

UCLA’s best record in recent seasons was in 1991-92, when the Bruins finished 21-10 and were among the final 16 teams of the NCAA tournament.

In the last eight years, UCLA’s record is 127-102. The Bruins have not placed higher than third in conference play in those years.

In the incident that prompted Wannetta Lockhart, mother of Detra Lockhart, to file a formal complaint, Detra was not allowed to eat French fries in a restaurant during a team trip. Lockhart responded that she would rather not eat than be told what to eat.

Moore allegedly shouted at Lockhart, threatening her with reduced playing time, and sent her to wait in the team van.

Wannetta Lockhart wrote in her complaint: “I question why this university continues to allow coaches to use the ‘kick-butt’ coaching technique or why they are allowed to play mind games with its players.”

Moore said she did not intend to embarrass Lockhart, and that she had been working with Lockhart on a program to get her to lose weight.

“I think it’s very important that you teach young people how to follow through on things,” Moore said.

But former players say Moore went too far with her discipline.

Anita Ortega, who played on Moore’s 1978 national championship team and returned to serve as Moore’s assistant from 1981-83, said that Moore acts like a dictator.

“She has a way of degrading the players and taking away their self-esteem,” Ortega said.

Phil Chase, Lockhart’s coach at Washington High, has closely followed the program since Lockhart was a freshman. Chase likens Moore’s coaching style to that of Indiana Coach Bob Knight, but says it is ineffective for Moore.

“Every person is different and I don’t believe you can treat everyone like an army recruit,” said Chase, who led Washington to four City championships between 1989-1992. “Part of teaching someone is teaching them to think on their own.”

Despite her detractors, Moore was one of the most successful coaches in the sport. Her 24-year record is 436-196, a winning percentage of .690.

She first bounded onto the national scene during her eight seasons at Fullerton. From 1969-77, she led the Titans to a 140-15 record and finished four seasons ranked in the top five.

Some suggested that Moore simply did not change with the times, that she failed to adjust her methods to accommodate the changing sensitivity of players.

Ironically, though, Moore was one of the pioneers in women’s athletics.

“Ten-15 years ago, everyone was so thankful (to be playing) because there was no opportunity,” Moore said. “Now, I think everything is a little bit more accessible and a little bit easier (for the players).”

Billie Moore

A look at the career record of Billie Moore, who resigned Wednesday as women’s basketball coach at UCLA.

Season School Record 1969-70 CS Fullerton 17-1 1970-71 CS Fullerton 20-1 1971-72 CS Fullerton 19-1 1972-73 CS Fullerton 13-1 1973-74 CS Fullerton 19-2 1974-75 CS Fullerton 19-2 1975-76 CS Fullerton 14-5 1976-77 CS Fullerton 19-2 1977-78 UCLA 27-3 1978-79 UCLA 24-10 1979-80 UCLA 18-12 1980-81 UCLA 29-7 1981-82 UCLA 16-14 1982-83 UCLA 18-11 1983-84 UCLA 17-12 1984-85 UCLA 20-10 1985-86 UCLA 12-16 1986-87 UCLA 18-10 1987-88 UCLA 19-11 1988-89 UCLA 12-16 1989-90 UCLA 17-12 1990-91 UCLA 15-13 1991-92 UCLA 21-10 1992-93 UCLA 13-14 Total 436-196

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Won conference titles at CS Fullerton: 1969-70, 70-71, 71-72, 72-73, 73-74, 74-75, 75-76. Won Pac-10 championships: 1977-78, 78-79. Won national championship: 1969-70, 1977-78. Coached 1976 U.S. Olympic team.