Moore becomes Cornell’s first female AD

Nicki Moore, Ph.D., speaks at her public introduction Dec. 2 as Cornell University’s next director of athletics. Moore will be the first female AD in the school’s history. Photo by Eldon Lindsay/Cornell Athletics.

A new era in Cornell University athletics is set to begin next month. On Nov. 30, the university announced that Nicki Moore, Ph.D., was named as the next Meakem Smith director of athletics and physical education and will start her tenure Jan. 17.

Moore was introduced to the Big Red community on Dec. 2 in the Hall of Fame Room at Schoellkopf Memorial Hall. It was clear to everyone in the room how excited she was to lead such a successful athletic program.

“‘I just am really overwhelmed with anticipation,” Moore said. “I can’t wait to meet everyone here that’s a part of it and to learn more about where we are and really start to set the course for where we want to go.”

The hiring of Moore is a historical one, as she will become the first female director of athletics in school history. In addition, Cornell will be the fifth Ivy League school with a female athletic director (joining Brown, Harvard, UPenn and Yale). Moore reflected on the significance of her appointment, especially during the 50th anniversary year of Title IX.

“In some ways, I feel like I’m actually just taking the baton from the women that came before me here and extending what they got started and what the student-athletes and coaches and other administrators have created,” Moore said. “I understand that it’s a big deal, and it’s remarkable. At the same time, it feels like it should be normal and just the right next step that is so aligned with the founding principles of Cornell. I’m really grateful to get to help realize a little bit more of that founding vision.”

Moore comes to Cornell with 18 years of experience that has taken her all around the country. After earning her Ph.D. in counseling psychology with an emphasis on sports psychology in 2002 from the University of Missouri, she served as the senior associate athletics director and senior woman administrator at the University of Oklahoma (2008-15) and the University of North Carolina (2015-2018). Since June 2018, she has been the vice president and director of athletics at Colgate University.

Moore shared what drew her into staying in state with the Big Red.

“[Cornell] is such a storied university, and there’s such a commitment to offer the very best in academics and athletics,” Moore said. “To me, it represents an ideal model of the student-athlete experience. To be able to have such a large stage and a large operation is a really exciting challenge to get to try to influence that huge number of people. To work within the campus and student life division is really exciting to really think about how we integrate athletics and recreation into the lives of everybody across campus, in addition to the passionate alumni base and the possibilities that lie here to do even better.”

Moore will take over from Andy Noel, who has led the Big Red since 1999. During his tenure, Cornell has won 105 Ivy League titles and 35 national championships. Noel has offered himself as a valuable resource for Moore as she gets acclimated to her new role.

“I anticipate asking for a fair bit of advice,” Moore said. “I’m certain that Andy’s extensive knowledge of this place and the programs will be of great use. In terms of advice that he has offered to me, … take it a step at a time, listen well, learn and then dream big.”

While Moore won’t officially begin her new role until next month, she already has some goals in mind that she hopes to accomplish during her time with the Big Red.

“My goal is to elevate all the programs, and that includes our recreation and physical education programs right alongside our 37 varsity sports,” Moore said. “President [Martha] Pollack has also made it clear how much she is invested in seeing athletics and physical education becoming a more integrated and present part of every student’s life on this campus. That is super exciting, so that absolutely is a goal, as well.”

After all these years working in athletics, Moore’s favorite part of the job is plain and simple: winning.

“Those moments where you clasp a victory are priceless and precious, but [it’s] also the little wins that we make when someone learns a little bit more about themselves or a coach discovers another way to get something done that they didn’t know before [or] a student-athlete takes a risk and succeeds or fails and gets back up,” Moore said. “All of those represent wins and are incredible parts of my job.”

Moore concluded, “The thing that has kept me going sometimes in athletics and in this role are the people that you get to work with. People in athletics are a resilient bunch. They are driven. They want to do good. They want to see sport be used in really constructive ways in people’s lives. And they want to win, so they’re really, really fun to work with.”

Send questions, comments and story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com.