Former Bishop England standout rules the court, classroom

If you are searching for someone who is the epitome of a student-athlete, you might want to start with Rhetta Moore.

 

The former Bishop England student is a standout on the basketball court for the University of North Florida (UNF) in Jacksonville, Florida, where she’s received numerous honors including all-ASUN Conference (formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference) honors.

 

But the big news is her classroom achievement. Moore became the first UNF women’s basketball player to be selected as the ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year and became only the third Osprey player to be named to the ASUN All-Academic team.

 

The NCAA has granted student-athletes an extra year of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Moore is taking advantage of the opportunity. It gives her an extra year on the basketball court. It also gives her more opportunities in the classroom. She will leave UNF with two undergraduate degrees and two master’s degrees in five years.

 

“The main reason to go to college is to get an education,” said Moore, who has landed on the UNF Dean’s list for six semesters. “Education is the key, and will open doors after I graduate. I am a student-athlete with the emphasis definitely on ‘student.’”

 

Moore had a 3.8 GPA as an undergrad and a 3.7 GPA as an MBA major. She graduated magna cum laude with her bachelor’s degree in business administration and also earned a bachelor of arts degree in Spanish.

 

Her latest endeavor will give her a master’s in business analytics.

 

Moore, who plays guard, averaged 12.2 points per game for the Ospreys and was third in the ASUN in steals (41), fourth in 3-point goals (50), fifth in defensive rebounds (100) and sixth in assists (71).

 

While she earned individual honors, her biggest take on the 2020-21 season was the improvement of her team.

 

“The growth of our team is what makes me happy,” Moore said. “Every year we have gotten better, which is a great trend. Our goal is to get to the conference championship. We’ve come close, but need to get to the next level.”

 

She said playing during the COVID-19 era allowed the players on the team to form an even stronger bond.

 

“We couldn’t go out much, and the team was pretty much in a bubble,” Moore said. “Taking classes online was strange, and I’ll never take going to classes for granted.” 

 

In her free time, Moore likes to go to the beaches in the Jacksonville area. She participates as a member on the conference’s student-athlete advisory council and volunteers at the Fleet Landing Retirement Home, Salvation Army food pantry and Jacksonville beach sweeps.

 

Moore had a brilliant career at Bishop England where she excelled in three sports – basketball, volleyball and track and field. She graduated from BE in 2017.

 

On the basketball court, Moore helped Bishop England to a 100-10 record in her four years as the Bishops won three state championships. She scored 1,330 points in her career and earned all-state honors.

 

“Bishop England definitely prepared me for college,” Moore said. “I was able to graduate with undergraduate degrees in three years because I took AP classes at Bishop England. That really helped.”