.jpg) Howland withUCLA in 2012 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1957-05-28)May 28, 1957 (age 68) Lebanon, Oregon, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1976–1978 | Santa Barbara CC |
| 1978–1980 | Weber State |
| Position | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1981–1982 | Gonzaga (assistant) |
| 1982–1994 | UC Santa Barbara (assistant) |
| 1994–1999 | Northern Arizona |
| 1999–2003 | Pittsburgh |
| 2003–2013 | UCLA |
| 2015–2022 | Mississippi State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 533–306 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 3NCAA Regional – Final Four (2006–2008) 2Big Sky regular season (1997, 1998) Big Sky tournament (1998) 2Big East regular season (2002, 2003) Big East tournament (2003) 4Pac-10 regular season (2006–2008, 2013) 2Pac-10 tournament (2006,2008) | |
| Awards | |
| Henry Iba Award (2002) Naismith College Coach of the Year (2002) Jim Phelan Award (2006) Big Sky Coach of the Year (1997) Big East Coach of the Year (2002) Pac-10 Coach of the Year (2006) | |
Benjamin Clark Howland (born May 28, 1957) is an Americancollege basketball coach who most recently served as the men's head coach atMississippi State University from to 2015 to 2022. He served as the head men's basketball coach atNorthern Arizona University from 1994 to 1999, theUniversity of Pittsburgh from 1999 to 2003, and theUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 2003 to 2013. Howland became the first men's coach in modern college basketball history to be fired shortly after winning an outright power-conference title.[1] He is one of the few NCAA Division I coaches to take four teams to the NCAA tournament.
Born inLebanon, Oregon, Howland first attendedDos Pueblos High School inGoleta, California, for a year then transferred toCerritos High School inCerritos, where he earned his diploma. While at Cerritos, he was a two-time All-CIF and two-time Suburban League Most Valuable Player in basketball.
After high school, Howland playedcollege basketball forSanta Barbara City College then transferred toWeber State College inOgden, Utah, a member of theBig Sky Conference. Known as a defensive specialist, he later played professional basketball inUruguay.
He earned abachelor's degree inphysical education at Weber State and amaster's degree in administration atGonzaga University inSpokane, Washington.[2]
Howland wanted to be a coach since his teenage years living in Santa Barbara. At age 24, he became a graduate assistant atGonzaga. His childhood friend Jay Hillock, the new head coach, recruited Howland. At Gonzaga, one of Howland's duties was to guard futurebasketball Hall of FamerJohn Stockton in practice.[3]
After a year at Gonzaga, Howland got his first paid coaching job at theUniversity of California, Santa Barbara (1982–1994) as an assistant to Ed DeLacy. AfterJerry Pimm replaced DeLacy in 1983, Howland helped Pimm lead the Gauchos to five postseason appearances between 1988 and 1994. Starting in 1992, Howland applied for head coaching jobs atUC Irvine andLoyola Marymount University but was turned down both times.[4]
Howland's first head coaching job was atNorthern Arizona University (1994–99) inFlagstaff. Under Howland,Northern Arizona captured theBig Sky Conference Championship in the 1996–97 season. He then led the Lumberjacks to the Big Sky tournament Championship the following year, sending them to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. While at NAU, he was considered for head coaching jobs at UC Irvine again and at UCSB, but again was turned down.[4]
He later ended up replacingRalph Willard at theUniversity of Pittsburgh, a member of theBig East Conference. While at Pittsburgh, Howland rebuilt thePanthers basketball program and earned an NIT bid his second season, followed by back-to-back Big East regular-season conference titles and NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances. He also took Pitt to three straightBig East Championship games, winning the 2003 tournament title, the first in school history. In 2002, Howland also earned several national coach-of-the-year awards. Howland's win–loss record at Pitt was 89–40 (.690) with four consecutive post-season bids.
Despite some success under the watch ofSteve Lavin, the program wanted to regain its position in the college basketball upper echelon. Even the success in the NCAA tournament belied the fact that UCLA had earned no better than a number 4 seed with the exception of the 1997 season. The2002–03 season turned out to be the back-breaker for Lavin as the Bruins stumbled to a 10–19 record and a 6–12 record in the conference. It was the first losing season for UCLA in over five decades. Lavin was dismissed following the season.
UCLA looked to find a coach that could move the Bruins back to the elite ranks of the Pac-10 and the country. Howland's success at the University of Pittsburgh and his southern California roots made him an attractive candidate. In 2003, he accepted the only job he said he would ever contemplate leaving Pitt for: the head coaching duties atUCLA.[5] UCLA athletic directorDan Guerrero, who declined to hire Howland at UC Irvine in 1997,[4] felt that Howland's Big East style of basketball, characterized by a slow down offense and lock-down man on man defense, would vault the program to the top of the Pac-10. However, Howland came into a program at the bottom of the Pac-10 with a roster not suited to his style. In his first season the club finished 11–17 and 7–11 in the conference. Howland remedied this disappointment in his recruiting efforts. Howland produced a top tier recruiting class from athletes in southern California that fit his Big East style. Behind Lavin hold-over Dijon Thompson and Howland recruitsJordan Farmar andArron Afflalo, UCLA produced a winning season for the first time in three years and returned to the tournament. Despite losing in the first round, the foundation had been set for future success.
Starting the2005–06 season with the majority of the roster made over in Howland's image and with the Lavin hold-overs buying into the system (e.g.,Ryan Hollins andCedric Bozeman) the Bruins produced an excellent campaign. They finished the regular season 24–6, winning the Pac-10 Conference title. They then roared through thePac-10 tournament, winning each game by double digits en route to only the second Pac-10 tournament championship in school history. The momentum continued into the NCAA tournament as the second-seeded Bruins staged a memorable late-game comeback to defeatGonzaga in the Sweet Sixteen. They then upset top-seeded Memphis to reach the school's first Final Four in 11 years. The run ended againstFlorida in the championship game whose imposing front-line proved to be a matchup problem for the Bruins.
At the end of the 2005–2006 season, he received a pay bonus after coaching a successful season.
Howland continued his success at UCLA the following year. TheBruins finished undefeated at home for the first time in 22 years, winning the Pac-10 conference title. However they lost in their firstPac-10 tournament game and were seeded second in the NCAA Tournament West Region. UCLA turned a tight opening into a blowout over Howland's alma mater Weber State in the first round. After a close second-round win overIndiana, Howland led the Bruins to a win over his former team,Pitt, coached by his former assistant,Jamie Dixon, in the Sweet Sixteen. The Bruins then again upset the top seed in the West Region,Kansas, in a classic matchup of two storied basketball programs and reached the second of UCLA's first consecutive Final Fours since theJohn Wooden era, only to lose again toFlorida in the national semifinal.
At the start of the2007–08 season, expectations forUCLA were highest with the arrival ofKevin Love, one of the best low-post prospects in the high school class of 2007.[6] Combined with the emergence ofRussell Westbrook andDarren Collison in the back-court, the Bruins won their 3rd consecutive Pac-10 conference title, and their secondPac-10 tournament title in three years. They received their first #1 seed in the NCAA tournament since 1995, and once again reached the Final Four, where they faced another top seed, theMemphis Tigers. Memphis got the better of the Bruins, who returned to Westwood without a championship once again. The Memphis victory was later vacated afterDerrick Rose was retroactively declared ineligible, but such did not change UCLA's 2008 Final Four standing.
With a 77–73 victory overPenn on December 10, 2011; Howland passedJim Harrick for second on UCLA's all-time wins list behindJohn Wooden.
In February 2012, aSports Illustrated article portrayed UCLA playerReeves Nelson as a bully on and off the court, who at times intentionally tried to injure his teammates. The article stated that Howland looked the other way and did not discipline Nelson for over two years. Both UCLA and Howland disputed the story, some as untrue and others as beyond the knowledge of the program.[7][8] From 2008—the Bruins last Final Four appearance—through 2012, at least 11 players left the UCLA program,[9] including Nelson who was suspended twice and dismissed in December 2011. After 2008, UCLA did not advance past the first weekend of the NCAA tourney, and did not qualify for the tournament in2010 and2012.[10] In 2009, Howland pulled a scholarship offer toKendall Williams, who had verbally committed to attend UCLA in 2010. SeveralAmateur Athletic Union (AAU) coaches inSouthern California thought that Howland delayed notifying Williams to deter otherPac-12 Conference coaches from pursuing him. Wary of Howland, many AAU coaches began advising their top players against playing for the Bruins. After the 2010 recruiting class,Norman Powell was the only one of Howland's 10 recruits who were from Southern California.[11]
Despite the winning, Howland had developed a reputation for coaching a boring brand of basketball.[12] In2012–13, UCLA landed a recruiting class considered the best in the nation.Jordan Adams was the first to sign, followed byMcDonald's All-AmericansShabazz Muhammad,Kyle Anderson andTony Parker.[13] Howland went to a new up-tempo offense, and the Bruins won the Pac-12 regular-season title. However, their second-leading scorer Adams broke his foot in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals, and the Bruins were blown out in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.[14] On March 25, 2013, Howland was fired by UCLA.[15][16] In his 10 years with the Bruins, he had a .685 winning percentage, went to three consecutive Final Fours, and won four Pac-12 conference titles.[17] At Howland's departure, only John Wooden had coached the Bruinsto more wins, or in more games.
On March 24, 2015, Howland was hired as the 20th head coach atMississippi State University, replacingRick Ray.[18] TheBulldogs were coming off three straight losing seasons and was in the midst of a six-year drought from the NCAA Tournament.[12] In his first season, Mississippi State finished with a record of 14–17 (7–11 SEC).
In the2018–19 season, Howland led Mississippi State to a 23–11 record, and their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2009. They would proceed to fall toLiberty 80–76.[19]
On March 17, 2022, Mississippi State announced that Howland had been fired.[20]
Ben Howland has coached a number of players who later played professionally in theNational Basketball Association (NBA)
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Arizona Lumberjacks(Big Sky Conference)(1994–1999) | |||||||||
| 1994–95 | Northern Arizona | 9–17 | 4–10 | 7th | |||||
| 1995–96 | Northern Arizona | 7–19 | 3–11 | 7th | |||||
| 1996–97 | Northern Arizona | 21–7 | 13–1 | 1st | NIT First Round | ||||
| 1997–98 | Northern Arizona | 21–8 | 12–2 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 1998–99 | Northern Arizona | 21–8 | 12–4 | 2nd | |||||
| Northern Arizona: | 79–59 (.572) | 44–28 (.611) | |||||||
| Pittsburgh Panthers(Big East Conference)(1999–2003) | |||||||||
| 1999–00 | Pittsburgh | 13–15 | 5–11 | 11th | |||||
| 2000–01 | Pittsburgh | 19–14 | 7–9 | 5th(West) | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 2001–02 | Pittsburgh | 29–6 | 13–3 | 1st(West) | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 2002–03 | Pittsburgh | 28–5 | 13–3 | T–1st(West) | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| Pittsburgh: | 89–40 (.690) | 38–26 (.594) | |||||||
| UCLA Bruins(Pacific-10/Pac-12 Conference)(2003–2013) | |||||||||
| 2003–04 | UCLA | 11–17 | 7–11 | T–7th | |||||
| 2004–05 | UCLA | 18–11 | 11–7 | T–3rd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2005–06 | UCLA | 32–7 | 14–4 | 1st | NCAA Division I Runner-up | ||||
| 2006–07 | UCLA | 30–6 | 15–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I Final Four | ||||
| 2007–08 | UCLA | 35–4 | 16–2 | 1st | NCAA Division I Final Four | ||||
| 2008–09 | UCLA | 26–9 | 13–5 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
| 2009–10 | UCLA | 14–18 | 8–10 | T–5th | |||||
| 2010–11 | UCLA | 23–11 | 13–5 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
| 2011–12 | UCLA | 19–14 | 11–7 | T–5th | |||||
| 2012–13 | UCLA | 25–10 | 13–5 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| UCLA: | 233–107 (.685) | 118–58 (.670) | |||||||
| Mississippi State Bulldogs(Southeastern Conference)(2015–2022) | |||||||||
| 2015–16 | Mississippi State | 14–17 | 7–11 | 11th | |||||
| 2016–17 | Mississippi State | 16–16 | 6–12 | 12th | |||||
| 2017–18 | Mississippi State | 25–12 | 9–9 | T–7th | NIT Semifinal | ||||
| 2018–19 | Mississippi State | 23–11 | 10–8 | T–6th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2019–20 | Mississippi State | 20–11 | 11–7 | T–4th | No postseason held | ||||
| 2020–21 | Mississippi State | 18–15 | 8–10 | 9th | NIT Runner-up | ||||
| 2021–22 | Mississippi State | 18–16 | 8–10 | 10th | NIT First Round | ||||
| Mississippi State: | 134–98 (.578) | 59–67 (.468) | |||||||
| Total: | 533–306 (.635) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
