Tulsa hires former A&M administrator Moore as AD
Former A&M baseball pitcher and Aggie administrator Justin Moore hired as Tulsa AD. The University of Tulsa has named Justin Moore as its new athletic director, replacing two-time TU athletic director Rick Dickson. Moore, a former Texas A&M University baseball pitcher, was previously a senior member of the Aggie athletics leadership staff. He was dismissed from Texas A.&M after Trev Alberts became the athletic director. University President Brad Carson found Moore's business sophistication, athletics knowledge, and ambition to make a mark for the Golden Hurricane athletic department. Moore will start on July 8.
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The smallest university in major-college football has identified its new athletic director, and he brings to the University of Tulsa campus an extensive history at a huge football school.
The Golden Hurricane athletic department’s new leader will be Justin Moore — a former Texas A&M University baseball pitcher who until recently was a senior member of the A&M athletics leadership staff.
Terms of the Tulsa-Moore marriage were finalized on Tuesday, university President Brad Carson told the Tulsa World.
Until recently, the 43-year-old Moore was Texas A&M’s executive deputy director of athletics and chief operating officer. After former Nebraska football star and athletic director Trev Alberts became the Texas A&M athletic director in March, Moore was among 18 figures who were dismissed from the Aggie athletic department.
Carson’s interview of Moore took place on the campus, and from there they joined Carson’s wife, Julie Kruse Carson, for lunch at the midtown Polo Grill. Brad Carson ordered the salmon tamale while Moore had a steak.
During lunch conversation, Carson recalled, “it was clear that [Moore] had the business sophistication, the athletics knowledge and the ambition. That’s what you’ve got to have to really make a mark.
“It was clear that Justin was a great candidate. Justin was [an athlete]. He’s been in the business world a bit. He was in football operations before moving over to administration, so he’s really seen every aspect of sports that you would want.”
Before Moore became a Texas A&M administrator in 2012, he was the University of Houston’s director of football operations in 2008-11. At that time, Tulsa and Houston had a heated football rivalry.
Moore was at Tulsa's H.A. Chapman Stadium for a 2009 Conference USA classic, during which Houston trailed by eight points with less than a minute left. The Cougars scored a touchdown and failed on a two-point conversion attempt but recovered an onside kick. As time expired, a Houston freshman converted on a 51-yard field goal and the Cougars prevailed 46-45.
“It was one of the most memorable games I’ve ever been a part of,” Moore said. “Because I was the director of operations, I would travel a day early before road games. I was given a tour of (the Tulsa campus). I remember thinking, ‘This is a really nice place.’
“Because of that, to be honest, I always kept my eye on Tulsa’s [athletic director position]. I would think, ‘If that job ever opens and the timing is right, that would be incredible.’ ”
With a start date of July 8, Moore succeeds two-time TU athletic director Rick Dickson. Dickson is a Tulsa native and Bishop Kelley graduate who attended TU during the ’70s and was the university’s athletic director in 1990-94. Before retiring in 2015, he was the athletic director also at Washington State and Tulane University.
After Derrick Gragg left Tulsa unexpectedly in 2020, Dickson returned to his alma mater and performed heroically. His initial expectation was that he would serve as a short-term athletic department stabilizer until the university identified a new athletic director.
Instead, Dickson captained Tulsa’s recovery from the 2020-21 damages that resulted from the COVID-19 impact on college sports. During those football and basketball seasons, fewer games were played and revenue was severely impacted by severe attendance limitations.
Dickson wound up firing a football coach (Philip Montgomery) and hiring a football coach (Kevin Wilson), while doing the same with the men’s basketball program — firing Frank Haith and hiring Eric Konkol. Dickson also breathed fresh energy into Tulsa’s fund-raising efforts.
The results were beyond just positive. They were unprecedented.
Addressing Dickson’s performance since 2020, Carson said, “he will go down in history as the person who really saved [Tulsa] athletics. In 2016 and 2017, there were real questions about the future of athletics at TU. Today, no one has doubts. No one doubts our commitment to excellence in Division I.
“That’s why Justin is coming to Tulsa — to build on that. Not to cut. That foundation on which Justin will build has Rick Dickson’s name on it.”
As Dickson rolls back into retirement at 5:01 p.m. on June 30, TU for the first time has hired an athletic director who must contend with the complexities of the name-image-likeness dynamic, the effect on team rosters of the transfer portal and the constantly changing landscape of Division I sports.
Among Moore’s variety of roles at Texas A&M was his work with Aggie football. In 2012-16, he was the associate athletic director of football administration. In November, he was involved in the hiring of new Aggie football coach Mike Elko.
Moore’s background in football: how important a consideration was it for Carson?
“It was really important,” Carson replied. “All 17 sports at TU are extremely important, but football is the one driving the biggest changes in collegiate athletics.
“[Moore] was at the [Southeastern Conference’s athletic director] meetings. He has seen football at the very highest levels and understands where it’s going. He knows what excellence looks like.”
Moore is a Lubbock native who attended Katy Taylor High School in the Houston area. In 2000-04, he was a right-handed pitcher on the Texas A&M baseball roster. Moore’s wife Dory also is a Texas A&M graduate.
“I was excited about the (Tulsa) opportunity not only because of the university, but the community, also,” Justin Moore said. “I’ve got three kids: a 15-year daughter, a 13-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter. They’re at very important stages in their lives, so the community where we would end up is critically important. We’re excited about Tulsa.”
In addition to having had a fund-raising role with A&M’s 12th Man Foundation, Moore oversaw the design process for several major facilities projects in College Station. Among them: a $485 million renovation of Kyle Field — described as having been the most substantial stadium renovation project in college football history. For every football-specific aspect during that renovation, Moore was the point man for the university.
With regard to the responses to TU’s search for a new athletic director, Carson said, “We had an amazing group of candidates, which says a lot about TU and a lot about what Rick Dickson has done. Rick put TU athletics on a good trajectory.
“Our candidates were amazingly strong — really remarkably talented people from across the country. It was a very difficult decision, actually, but Justin stood out because of the uniqueness of his experience.”
Konular: Football