[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 115 (Tuesday, July 31, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1366-E1367]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      TRIBUTE TO UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA ATHLETIC DIRECTOR MAL MOORE

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 31, 2012

  Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Coach Mal Moore, the 
respected, longtime Athletic Director of The University of Alabama who 
was recently named the 2012 recipient of the John L. Toner Award from 
the National Football Foundation (NFF) and the College Hall of Fame.
   The Toner Award is presented annually by the NFF to an Athletic 
Director who has demonstrated superior administrative abilities and 
shown outstanding dedication to college athletics, particularly college 
football.
   For those who closely follow University of Alabama athletics, there 
is little doubt that Mal Moore deserves this tremendous honor. As 
Alabama's Athletic Director since 1999, he has guided the University's 
sports program to a new era of success, made improvements to athletic 
facilities and overseen numerous conference and national championships. 
This year alone, under his leadership, Mal Moore has been instrumental 
in the Crimson Tide winning four national championships in football, 
women's gymnastics, women's softball and women's golf.
   Long a prominent figure in the ``Alabama family,'' Coach Moore 
played quarterback under legendary head football coach Paul ``Bear'' 
Bryant, beginning in 1958, and was a member of the 1961 national 
championship team. A secondary and, later, quarterbacks coach for Coach 
Bryant's Crimson Tide, Coach Moore became a fixture on the `Bama 
coaching staff until Coach Bryant's retirement in 1982 when he was 
hired to be an assistant coach at The University of Notre Dame. In 
1990, he returned to Alabama to serve as offensive coordinator under 
Coach Gene Stallings. All total, Coach Moore has been a part of nine of 
Alabama's 14 national championships.
   As Athletic Director, Mal Moore directs a $100 million budget and 21 
men's and women's varsity sports teams. His record of leadership speaks 
for itself. Since 1999, the University has notched countless NCAA 
championships and even more SEC championships. Also during Coach 
Moore's tenure as Athletic Director, the Crimson Tide football team has 
won two national championships (2009 and 2011), posted six 10-win 
seasons, a 5-4 bowl record, appearances in four Bowl Championship 
Series (BCS) bowl games and SEC championships in 1999, 2009 and 2011.
   Winning is not his only legacy; however, the face of the University 
of Alabama campus has also been transformed during Coach Moore's tenure 
with more than $200 million in improvements to the athletic 
infrastructure. Alabama has erected new stadiums for soccer, softball 
and tennis; new facilities for women's basketball and volleyball; a new 
golf clubhouse; and improved facilities for every other sports team, in 
addition to the renovation of the Bill Battle Center for Athletic 
Student Services and Coleman Coliseum. In 2007, The University of 
Alabama Board of Trustees officially dedicated the facility formerly 
known as the Football Building as the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility. 
Coach Moore also oversaw the expansion of Bryant-Denny Stadium in 2006 
and 2009, pushing the venue's capacity to 101,821, which ranks fifth 
nationally.
   Mal Moore will be officially honored at the 55th NNF awards dinner 
at Waldorf-Astoria in New York City on December 4, 2012. He was elected 
to the State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.
   Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the people of Alabama and the entire 
Alabama Congressional Delegation, I would like to commend Coach Mal 
Moore for his exemplary leadership and congratulate him for receiving 
the John L. Toner Award. I know Coach Moore's daughter, Heather, his 
granddaughter, Anna Lee and grandson, Charles, as well as his many, 
many friends and associates around the country share in this proud and 
well-deserved honor.

[[Page E1367]]



                          ____________________