Mal Moore Finalist For AD Of The Year

University of Alabama Director of Athletics Mal Moore is among five finalists for the Athletics Director of the Year Award in the 2010 Sports Business Awards presented by Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily.

Mal Moore has been athletics director at The University of Alabama since Nov. 23, 1999. He has a long career at Bama, including being a member of legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant's first football signing class in 1958. Moore was a player on the 1961 national championship football team, an assistant coach on the 1964, 1965, and 1973 teams, offensive coordinator on the 1978, 1979, and 1992 teams, and director of athletics on the latest, the 2009 national championship team.

He has directed an extraordinary fund-raising drive and athletics facilities improvements and hired some of the nation's outstanding coaches, including Nick Saban in football and Anthony Grant in men's basketball.

As a finalist, Moore joins the University of North Carolina's Dick Baddour, Gene Bleymaier of Boise State University, Dan Guerrero of UCLA and Gene Smith of Ohio State University. The Sports Business Awards recognize excellence and outstanding achievement in the business of sports for the period from January 1, 2009, through February 28, 2010. Athletic directors from colleges and universities in the United States were eligible.

Winners will be announced at an awards gala slated to be held Thursday, May 20, at the New York Marriott Marquis in New York.