NAME: Billy Moores
UNIVERSITY: Alberta
CATEGORY: Coach
CW Hall of Fame Class of 2024-25
HIGHLIGHTS:
Coached with Alberta Golden Bears men's hockey team from 1976 until 1994
As a player, he led Canada West in scoring in 1971-72, when the Golden Bears finished third in the CIAU.
• In seven seasons as the Bears head coach, named Canada West Coach of the Year seven times and CIAU Coach of the Year twice.
• Won the CIAU championship twice, and the Canada West title five times.
• Head coach of the Kokudo Bunnies in Japan (1994-96), assistant coach with the New York Rangers (1996-98), and assistant coach with the Edmonton Oilers (2000-09).
BIOGRAPHY:
The name Billy Moores is synonymous with University of Alberta Golden Bears hockey.
He was a talented player while starring for the Golden Bears in 1971-72, a season during which he lead the Canada West in scoring and the Bears to a league-winning record of 18-2. The Bears finished that season with a record of 30-5-1 (.847) and third place in the CIAU championship tournament.
While Billy was known as an outstanding athlete, it is as a builder of sport that he left his greatest legacy. Bill Moores ranks as one of the greatest coaches in University of Alberta history. From 1976 to 1994, Moores was an outstanding member of the coaching staff of the Golden Bears men's hockey team - for ten of these years he was an assistant coach and for seven, head coach. He was first named as head coach during the 1979-80 season when Clare Drake was called to serve as the head coach of the Canadian Olympic team. He assumed head coaching duties again in 1983-84 and later replaced Coach Drake as the team's head coach in 1989, serving in that capacity until 1994.
In his seven seasons as the Golden Bears' head coach, the team's overall record was 220-80-23. His record in Canada West conference play was 129-44-20, sporting an incredible .720 win percentage. He was named Canada West Hockey Coach of the Year on four occasions - 1984, 1990, 1991, 1993 - and the CIAU Coach of the Year in 1980 and 1991.
During his years as the head coach of the Bears, Bill lead them to five CIAU national championship tournaments and to University Cup victories in 1980 and 1992. His teams won five Canada West Conference titles and never finished lower than second place.
While winning championships was an important goal, it was never Bill's main goal. His "ultimate goal" was to cultivate the whole person and he used sport as the vehicle to do this. His greatest efforts were aimed at helping each player meet their potential as a human being while preparing his athletes for their future in any walk of life.