The PVAMU family is mourning the loss of former basketball coach Leroy G. Moore, Jr., who passed away Sunday, Jan. 15.

A native of Muskogee, Okla., Moore attended Douglass High School in Oklahoma City, Okla. where he was a standout athlete in both football and basketball. He completed his bachelor's degree at Langston College in 1948. Shortly after, he married Theodra Crowell. Together they raised two children: Dr. David L. Moore, D.D.S. and Dr. Sandra Moore Ashmore, M.D.

Moore was the head basketball coach of the Prairie View Panthers from 1956 to 1969. During that time, he led the Panthers to multiple championships, including the Georgia Invitational, the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Basketball Championship and the 1962 NAIA National Small College Basketball Championship. He was also the president of the SWAC from 1958-1960.

From 1978 through 1984, Moore served as a professor in the PVAMU Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, athletic director and acting dean of the College of Education. From 1984 until his retirement in 1986, Moore was the department head of health, physical education and recreation. In 2008, the Intramural Gymnasium was officially named in his honor.

Visitation will be held from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. the wake service on Friday, Jan. 20 at the PVAMU Johnson Phillips All Faiths Chapel. The Kappa Alpha Psi traditional service will also be held at 7 p.m. Visitation will resume at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 until the time of service (11 a.m.) at the Chapel. A repast will immediately follow in the Leroy G. Moore, Jr. Intramural Gymnasium.