Maya Moore ’11 holds the record as UConn’s all-time leading women’s basketball scorer, a gold medal from the 2010 FIBA World Championship, and has captured six different national player-of-the-year awards over the past two years. At her core, though, she’s also an outstanding student whose education is supported by a privately funded scholarship.
That scholarship plays heavily in Moore’s mind on a regular basis.
“It’s a privilege to earn a scholarship because you can take for granted all the costs of a college education,” she says. “I feel that in return, I have to work my hardest. Coach Auriemma reminds us often that we’re on scholarship and we have to work for what we get and what we want, just like you have to work for your living when you’re out of college. It’s a great teaching point.”
Studying an individualized major of sports media and promotion, she says it’s a constant struggle to balance school and sport.
“It’s very hard; there’s no easy way around it. You have to put in the time, and it’s really a mindset. Some of it comes from my family, though. I was around a lot of people who were teachers, who encouraged me to do well in school. So I always loved it, and it was a positive environment growing up. My feeling has always been that I’m at a university to learn and I want to get the most out of that.”
Maya’s hard work has translated into impressive success in the classroom, too, as she earned recognition as both a 2010 Academic All-American and the Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Her grounded attitude about life on and off the court is part of a culture at UConn that attracted donors Bob and Charlene Wright to support, among many other things, the UConn women’s basketball program with a $100,000 scholarship gift.
“I’m not an athlete. I’m not an alumnus. When we started giving to support UConn, we were fairly new to the area. But when I attended basketball games and was around some of the people who managed the University, I was impressed with the integrity I saw,” Bob Wright says. “It’s focused on the student-athletes. And you can just say that and give it a lot of lip service, but from what I’ve seen, UConn really does develop their players as whole people.”
With two daughters of their own, the Wrights were particularly impressed watching the UConn women’s program, as well as the student-athletes their fund has supported, grow over the years. Wright recalls attending the NCAA regional final in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 2007.
“After we won, everyone on the team was on the floor jumping and cheering, celebrating the win. And out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Maya, who was a freshman at the time, had the focus to turn around, calmly find her mother in the crowd, and wish her a happy birthday. That really made an impression on me. Someone with her skillset could have anything, but she demonstrates a sense of humility, poise and balance that is, in my opinion, very unusual.”
Wright and Moore meet annually in the fall at the Division of Athletics Endowed Scholarship Dinner, an opportunity for donors to visit with scholarship-supported student-athletes, as well as interact with coaches, athletics staff members and other University representatives. Moore believes that the experience drives home the generosity of those who support the University.
“I think it’s awesome that we’re able to spend some time with our donors,” she says. “It makes the scholarship more real when you can see that the money doesn’t somehow come out of the sky; it comes from such generous people who have families and other obligations, but love our game and support the University. It leaves an impression that after we graduate we could become those people, give back ourselves, and stay connected to UConn.”
Both Wright and Moore look to that future optimistically.
“I feel like I’ve had a great head start to go out into the work world,” Moore says. “I’ve definitely been coached by the best in the world. The way Coach Auriemma and the coaching staff teach us to approach our game stresses how much passion you need to succeed. How you have to pay attention to the little details. That translates into anything you do in life. And academically, I’ll have a bachelor’s degree and maybe a desire to do further graduate work at some point. The scholarship has given me a great start.”
Bob Wright says that the program’s success over time makes giving back to support it natural.
“It’s hard to see that the women’s program could get much more successful than it already has,” Wright says, “But I’ve heard Geno Auriemma talk about his quest for perfection. And if they can’t be perfect, he’s made it clear that they will achieve excellence along the way. As long as I am physically and financially able to give back, I will. I see the money that I’ve invested in the University help young women achieve success, and that’s extremely gratifying to us.”
