DePauw University

Mike Howland earned second team all-America honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 2002 and was the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year that season as the Tigers advanced to the NCAA Division III quarterfinals for just the third time in program history. A first team all-SCAC selection in 2002, Howland earned honorable mention in 1999 and 2000. He ranks third in DePauw and SCAC history with 490 career assists and his 180 assists in 2001-02 remain a DePauw and SCAC single-season record. Howland’s 1,276 career points rank 14th in program history and he’s still seventh with 357 free throws made. In a Jan. 27, 2002, win over Rhodes, the point guard totaled a DePauw-record 15 assists which still ranks second in SCAC history. His career-high 26 points came in an Introducing the Hall of Fame 2023 Class of Inductees NCAA round of 16 overtime win over WashU and, in three NCAA postseason games, he averaged 18.7 points and 6.8 assists while hitting 8-of-13 3-point field goal tries. The Tigers posted a 75-28 record in his four seasons including 22-4 in 2001-02. 

Upon graduation, Howland went on to spend eight years in the financial sector as a commodities trader while also coaching basketball at his alma mater, Saint Viator High School in Arlington Heights, Ill. He decided to pursue his passion for coaching full time in 2014 when he and his wife Shannon moved to Springfield, Mo., and he became the director of basketball operations at Missouri State. A year later, Howland took the next step in his coaching journey and was named assistant coach at Winthrop University. He spent four years at Winthrop helping the Eagles go 86-40 with two Big South championships and an NCAA tournament appearance. In 2019, less than a year after the birth of their twins Bella and Tucker, Howland was named the associate head coach at William & Mary. The Howland’s still reside in Williamsburg, Va., and, on Thanksgiving Day of last year, coach Howland was ecstatic to miss the first game of his career so he could be there for the birth of their third child Judson.