Edwin Moses joins alma mater Morehouse for celebration

The greatest athlete in Morehouse College history was on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday to celebrate the grand opening and dedication of the newly renovated Edwin C. Moses Track and B.T. Harvey Stadium Football Field, which opened in 1983. 

Edwin Moses, a 1978 Morehouse graduate, won gold medals in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1976 and 1984 Olympics. Moses was joined by current members of the Morehouse track team, as well as several former Olympians, including three-time gold medalist Gail Devers. 

As a student-athlete in the mid-1970s, when Moses was starring on the college’s track team, Morehouse didn’t have a track or its own football field. Moses recalled of his training, “I must have broken into every track in the city, but I did whatever it took to win.”

The new, multimillion-dollar renovations to the track, which had fallen into disrepair following the Centennial Olympic Games, will allow the historically Black college in Atlanta to host track meets for the first time in at least a decade. “This will give our program new life,” said Morehouse’s longtime track coach, Willie Hill, who plans to host the Morehouse Relays in March. 

A $1 million donation from philanthropist Billye Suber Aaron, the widow of baseball great Hank Aaron, helped fund part of the renovation project. 

Said Morehouse President David A. Thomas, “This effort has always been about giving scholar-athletes the facilities they deserve.” 

A 1978 graduate of Morehouse, Moses became one of the most dominant figures in track history. Between 1977 and 1987, he won 107 consecutive finals and set the world record in the event four times.