Longtime Youth Mentor to Receive Ithaca College Presidential Medal

Alumnus will be honored at May 19 Commencement ceremony.

Nicholas Moore Photo

A proud alumnus of Ithaca College, Nicholas Carl Moore ’80 earned his degree in Sport Management and has invested heavily into the lives of the students and graduates of IC as a mentor for more than 40 years.

Moore will be recognized at Ithaca College’s 2024 Commencement ceremony with the Presidential Medal, established in 2019 as a way to honor a member or members of the Ithaca College family or valued partners of the institution whose lives embody the values of Ithaca College and demonstrate a strong sense of service and sustainability to the IC community and our world.

Moore made an immediate impact in the City of Ithaca community as an undergraduate with internships at NCR, Southside Community Center, and the Greater Ithaca Activities Center. During his time at Ithaca College, Moore was instrumental in helping to form and participate in a number of student organizations, including the Afro-Latin Society (ALS), Kuumba Repertory Theater Group, Imani Singers Gospel Choir, BBB (Building a Better Brotherhood) basketball, and the EOP Minority Professionals Symposiums. But his legacy at IC is anchored as the artist who created the mural located in the ALS Room in the West Tower that has hosted thousands of visitors for more than four decades and left an indelible impression on the college community at large.

Upon graduation, Moore joined State Senator Anthony M. Masiello in Albany as Chief Legislative Assistant from 1981 to 1986, fostering key legislation for affordable housing along with increased funding for education, child and family health, and crime and drug abatement. He was then recruited to the NYS Department of Labor as an Affirmative Action Officer in the Western Region from 1986 to 1988, monitoring and settling discrimination claims against non-compliant businesses.

His passion for sports administration was fulfilled by his opportunity to serve as a college and professional men’s basketball coach for the following institutions from 1981 to 1991: Daemen College, Erie CC, SUNY at Buffalo, Drake University, and the Mayaguez Tainos of the Superior Professional Basketball League in Puerto Rico. Several of his players went on to play professionally in Europe. After his coaching career, Moore became a partner in Preferred Management Group, a sports and entertainment enterprise, as Director of Team Sports (1991-94), negotiating contracts and marketing deals for its sports and entertainment clients.

Moore moved to Charlotte, NC, in 1994 and launched his own business entities: Moore & Associates (a sports marketing and business development firm) and The Sports Network (a consultant group for event marketing, trade shows, and sporting events) based in Charlotte and Orlando, FL, from 1994-2013. Some of his clients included McDonald’s, Converse, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, American Airlines, Coca-Cola, University of California-Berkeley, and Carnival Cruise Lines.

Moore’s commitment to community service and marketplace outreach led to his founding in 2009 of Mandate Ministries, which focuses on reentry, serving the homeless population and women who are victims of domestic violence. As a result of his many years of service in the trenches, he has authored 17 books about faith enhancement, family empowerment, and community engagement.

Currently, Moore is CEO of Soteria Holdings, LLC, a business development consultancy targeting sustainable systems and affordable housing projects in the Turks and Caicos Islands and Uganda, through a partnership with the Elijah Foundation Trust (a private philanthropic organization) and the Center for Disability and Rehabilitation in Kampala.

The Presidential Medal

First awarded in 2019, the Ithaca College Presidential Medal was created as a way to honor a member or members of the Ithaca College family or valued partners of the institution whose lives embody the values of Ithaca College and demonstrate a strong sense of service and sustainability to the Ithaca College community and our world.

The Ithaca College Presidential Medal is a replica of the medallion given to graduating IC students at Commencement to commemorate and forever connect to this celebratory occasion and this tremendous honor.