Bill & Robbie Moore
After attending their niece’s wedding in San Antonio on Saturday, N
ov. 14, Bill and Robbie Moore didn’t stick around town long to mingle with family and friends.
Instead, they were on the first flight to Houston the next morning so they could rent a car and drive to Baton Rouge to watch Texas A&M play LSU in an NCAA Tournament soccer match. After the Aggies’ thrilling win on penalty kicks, the Moores drove back to Houston and caught a flight back home to Dallas.
It was quite the trip. Their spontaneity should be commended.
But was this really rational behavior?
“Clearly not,” Bill Moore said with a laugh. “It’s fun, though.”
Indeed, this couple thrives on anything Aggie, particular A&M athletics as season ticket holders in football, men’s basketball, baseball, volleyball and soccer. After purchasing a home in College Station’s historical district, the commute from Dallas has become easier.
Of course, most fans leave Aggieland on a Sunday after a weekend sporting event to return to their respective homes. The Moores are known for taking in weekday Aggie games—like an ESPN Big Monday game in basketball—and driving back to Dallas at 4 in the morning to make it home in time to suit up for work the next day.
“People don’t get it,” Robbie said of her and her Bill’s dedicated travel schedules. “If they didn’t go to A&M, they just don’t get it.”
Perhaps Bill and Robbie were the perfect match, having met the weekend before classes started their freshman year at A&M in 1982. The Class of ’86 Aggies dated throughout college and married shortly after graduation.
As Bill worked as an engineer and Robbie in special education, the two tried to keep in touch with A&M as much as possible. But living in Kansas City and Florida prevented the Moores from really feeding their Aggie addiction.
It wasn’t until Bill finished law school at the University of Texas and the two settled in Dallas in 1995 that they were able to truly reconnect with A&M. And in the last two years, they have been engaged with the athletic department even more.
As members of a 12th Man Foundation Champions Council and significant contributors to Phase II of the Championship Vision capital campaign, the Moores are realizing their goal of giving back to the place that gave them so much.
“We wouldn’t be where we’re at without A&M,” Robbie says. “We realized that very early. If we were able to give back, we were going to do that.”
Added Bill: “We get so much enjoyment out of (supporting the Aggies), and we’ve been fortunate. But it’s on us. Let’s step up and help.”
The Moores’ latest Aggie endeavor has been to join the Olsen Field committee, which has been charged in seeking donors to help fund a $16 million renovation to the aging baseball stadium.
Bill Moore said he was shocked by the harsh reality of how much work needed to be done to bring Olsen Field up to the high facility standards now set in the Big 12.
“That’s kind of a sore thumb that sticks out,” said Moore, who works as general counsel for Luminant, the largest power provider in Texas. “I went into the locker rooms and looked at the showers. I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ It’s like the old 1940s Corps dorms.”
And the Moores know something about competing facilities, as they often travel to various sporting events, even those not including their beloved Aggies. In fact, the couple, which has no children, often picks a random college football game to attend each year just to soak up the atmosphere that is a Saturday in the fall.
“I love being on a college campus on a game day,” Bill said. “It’s just a blast with the energy. You know you’ve got to live your life. I don’t want to sit around and say, ‘Boy, I wish I would have done that or wish I would have gone there.’ Just get out there and do it.”
The Moores certainly hope Aggie soccer and some of their other favorite sports can do it and win a national title. Should that happen, expect quite the celebration emanating from one of their maroon-heavy houses.
And that wouldn’t be irrational behavior at all.