Alumni Spotlight: Michael Moran

This is the seventh in a series of spotlights on Temple Athletics alumni. The series started with the eight-member 2023 Athletics Hall of Fame Class, which was inducted the weekend of October 6-7.

One of the top men's gymnasts in the storied history of the Temple program, Michael Moran (1996-2000) was a three-time All-America selection and six-time conference champion during his storied career.

Following an injury-plagued freshman year, he won conference titles in vault, rings, horizontal bar, and all-around, leading the Owls to the conference championship. He would finish the team by earning All-America honors in the vault, horizontal bars, and all-around.

In his final two seasons, he won the conference championship on the rings and qualified for the NCAA Championships but was unable to compete due to injury. Moran also qualified for the U.S. National Team in 1998 and competed at the Pan American Games in 1999.

1) You were a member of the junior national team during your high school days in Windsor, Conn. What was your thought process on choosing schools and why Temple?

"It is an interesting story. I trained for the '96 Olympic Team and my coach was very into not leaving the gym, not having any outside influences. So, I knew (Temple gymnastics coach) Freddy (Turoff). I had good friends from my junior (national) team that were at Temple University. So, I actually accepted a scholarship from Temple sight unseen. I had never been to Philly and never been on the Temple campus before freshman orientation.

My decision was based on knowing Freddy, knowing the culture of the team and knowing the guys on the team. That is what drew me to Temple."

2) What was it like competing under legendary coach Fred Turoff?

"Freddy is such an amazing coach. He is a very laid-back coach. I had a coach who was very intense during my junior team training, so it was really great to get to Temple and have someone who was a mentor, knew the sport really well, but let me guide myself a little bit."

3) Talk about coming back after a tough, injury-plagued freshman season to lead the team to a conference championship and earn All-America honors?

"Many people may not know this but when I arrived at Temple, I was pretty beat up from having trained for the '95 and '96 championship teams. I actually had three orthopedic surgeries the fall of my freshman year, but I ended up still competing in five events throughout that season to help us win the ECAC Championship.

That was quite an amazing experience. It took a lot of hard work and adaptation. I did a floor routine where I only touched my left hand on the floor that was because I had my right hand reconstructed.

Coming back healthy my sophomore season and being able to not only help the team, but earn All-American honors, was really special."

4) Injuries impacted your final two seasons. Talk about how difficult it was to not be able to compete in the NCAAs?

"It was hard (going through injuries) and really disappointing missing the NCAA Championships. I broke my heel on the parallel bars my junior year. I was qualified for the NCAAs, but I could not walk so I could not compete.

It was disappointing, but for me there were always bigger goals, longer-term goals, like my senior, making the 1999 Pan-American Team. So, there were always goals I was looking at. Being injured was an obstacle, but it was never anything that put me down."

5) Besides Temple, you competed with the Team USA. How special was it to be able to represent your country internationally?

"It was some of the greatest experiences in my life. I competed twice internationally for our country. Once was the Brazilian Summer Olympics Festival in 1995. That was mixed pairs meet and we actually performed on the beach in an outside volleyball arena which was really cool. I did the high bar and floor exercise, and my partner did beam and floor exercise. We actually won the gold medal for the team in that competition.

Obviously competing in the 1999 Pan American Games was an amazing experience. To be a part of the opening and closing ceremonies is special. It is very special and close to being part of the Olympics. It was very rewarding."

6) Finally, what does your induction into the Temple Athletics Hall of Fame mean to you? And how special was that night?

"It was very surreal. Getting the phone call from Arthur Johnson (Temple VP/AD) while I was out camping with my wife to notify me that I was being inducted was a very surreal experience. Then there was a gap of time before we actually went to Temple for the ceremony, so it had kind of simmered down in my mind. Then getting back to Philly for the first time in 20 some years and being on campus brought back all of the feelings. It was a truly amazing night, and it was great that I could share it with my family and friends as well.

Temple University Athletics

Alumni Spotlight: Michael Moran

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