N.C. Central head coach wants to help other minority coaches advance in their careers

When LeVelle Moton applied for the head coaching position at his alma mater, North Carolina Central, 15 years ago, he had limited head coaching experience. Although he was then an assistant coach on the Eagles’ basketball staff, his head coaching résumé primarily featured stints at middle schools and high schools.

Moton’s story parallels that of Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who became the NFL’s second-youngest head coach and the first Black head coach in Steelers history when he was hired in 2007. As two young Black men who were hired for head coaching jobs without much head coaching experience yet excelled, Moton and Tomlin have built a strong relationship over the years.

“[The hiring process for Black coaches] it’s kind of been the elephant in the room that people discuss but they don’t discuss openly and candidly, and, to be completely honest with you, it was something that Mike and I had always discussed. It connected our bond,” Moton told Andscape.

Moton, now a member of North Carolina Central’s Alex M. Rivera Athletics Hall of Fame, has led the Eagles to four Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament championships and four NCAA tournament appearances. He wants other Black and minority men’s and women’s collegiate basketball coaches to have a better chance of being hired at Power 5 schools and also wants assistants to get more consideration for head coaching roles. With those goals in mind, he and Tomlin will host the Next Up coaches conference Thursday and Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“We’re both on the back nine of our careers, so we just said, ‘Look, man, let’s provide an opportunity to help develop these younger coaches,’ ” Moton said. “That will kind of plant some seeds for some trees that we would’ve probably never seen grow, [but] these guys can have a tangible outcome.”

The creation of the Next Up conference has been almost a decade in the making, Moton said. He has invited 30 Black coaches from around the country who are head and assistant coaches at historically Black colleges and universities, Power 5 institutions, mid-major schools and high schools.

Moton likens the conference to that of Nike’s Villa 7, a group designed to connect top assistant coaches with athletic directors who may need to fill head coaching vacancies in the future. Marquette coach Shaka Smart has credited the Villa 7 with furthering his career, and Moton hopes his Next Up conference could have similar results.

During the conference, coaches will get to speak individually with search firms and athletic directors. Moton believes getting that face time will allow the coaches to build relationships that could be fruitful in the future.

“All coaches want is access and opportunity. … You have to put them in a position in front of the people that provide the opportunities,” Moton said. “Any questions and concerns that they may have, they go ask them [and] vice versa.”

In March, Fayetteville State women’s basketball head coach Tyreece Brown was named the full-time coach after spending most of last season as an interim coach. Brown earned the position after the Broncos won the Central Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament championship and advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Division II tournament.

“In this world, especially in this coaching profession, learning it from guys that have been in it for a while and have been successful is very important,” Brown said. “Me just coming off my first year as a head coach [and having the opportunity to] just pick their brains, I’m just trying to absorb everything that they’re willing to give. I’m just gonna be a sponge.”

Although Brown didn’t have to go through a search firm to be hired by Fayetteville State, he remembers his first experience with search firms responsible for compiling a list of candidates to recommend for vacant head coaching positions.

“I’ve been in that environment before and it was unexpected, especially when it was my first time. It’s like something they can’t prepare you for,” Brown said. “So, that is great that [Moton] is doing this. Just to put people in front of a search firm to get them an interview [prepares them] to know what type of questions [they ask] and just that environment.”

Norfolk State coach Robert Jones spent seven years in the role before a search firm reached out to him for another coaching position, despite his success in the MEAC and being a part of the staff that won an NCAA tournament game upset in 2012. Jones hopes to meet even more athletic directors and search firms he’s not familiar with during the conference.

“It took awhile for the search firms and [athletic directors] to take notice about what [HBCU coaches] were doing. I still think that along those circles [of athletic directors] … it’s still not fully where it needs to be,” Jones said. “Year in and year out, it’s good that it’s starting to change with getting more attention and getting more opportunity to be able to potentially get a powerful or really lucrative job.

“I think, like, meeting some of the actual people [and] search firms would pay dividends in the long run because let’s face it – the more familiar they are with you, the more searches you’re gonna be a part of. So [it’s] the best way to connect the dots even more.”

Since 2021, Jones has noticed an increase in firms reaching out to him. He said he has participated in at least one head coaching search every year since.

“I think it’s gonna be really beneficial for those 24 assistant coaches to try to get their first taste of what it’s like to interview and get your name on a radar, on a map,” Jones said. “It’s definitely something good that LeVelle is doing to try to get people in front of these firms who normally wouldn’t get a chance to probably do it.”

Moton wants the conference to change lives, careers and opportunities for Black coaches. He also hopes the conference can become an annual event where coaches, athletics directors and search firms can continue to build relationships. Helping Black coaches break into the industry and get consideration for top jobs is a moral and social obligation at this point in his career, he said.

“It’s homegrown. My mother and grandmother taught me [to give back]. That’s how we were raised, someone provided opportunities for us,” Moton said. “Hopefully from this conference another younger LeVelle Moton or whoever can receive the same type of opportunity that I once had. Then they’ll come back and provide more opportunities. That’s the only way it’s gonna work.”