Pack hires new womens hoops coach

Executive Senior Associate Director of Athletics Chris Kingston confirmed to The Wolfpacker Friday afternoon that NC State has hired Chattanooga coach Wes Moore to replace Kellie Harper as the Wolfpack's women's basketball coach.

Moore brings impressive credentials to the job. He was an assistant under Kay Yow at NCSU from 1993-95 and has 24 years of head coaching experience that included stops at Division II Francis Marion and Division III Maryville College before landing at Chattanooga.

The 57-year old has 558 career wins, and he has spent the past 15 seasons at Chattanooga where he went 358-113 and became the all-time leader in wins in school history. Last year the Lady Mocs won a school-record 29 games and reached the NCAA Tournament. He is the only women's basketball coach to have taken schools to the NCAA Tournament at all three levels.

Moore was a three-time district coach of the year at Maryville College, where he led them to five straight tournament appearances from 1989-93. At Francis Marion, he was the Peach Belt Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1997 and led them to tournament appearances in 1997 and 1998.

At Chattanooga, the Lady Mocs have made nine NCAA Tournament appearances and four women's NIT berths. He was a six-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year and in 2004 named the TSWA Collegiate Coach of the Year.

His 558-169 record is the eighth-best winning percentage (78 percent) among all NCAA coaches. During his tenure at Chattanooga he became the winningest coach in Southern Conference history, and his teams went 241-43 in league play.

Moore is just the fourth head coach in NCSU history. He replaces Harper after Harper was dismissed following a 17-17 season. Harper had gone 70-64 in four seasons at NC State, including a 23-39 mark in conference action. She reached the NCAA Tournament in his first season but failed to make it back the following three years.