Todd Howard took over as the seventh head coach in the history of the IUPUI Men's Basketball Program on April 21, 2011. He is entering his 17th season on the Jaguars sidelines, serving the last 10 years as the Associate Head Coach to longtime leader Ron Hunter. He was an assistant on Hunter's staff for six years prior to that.
While under Hunter, he surpassed Greg Mingus as the longest tenured assistant/associate coach in the program’s history and was also the longest tenured assistant/associate coach in The Summit League. Before being promoted to the head spot, he was recognized by numerous publications, including Hoop Scoop and Fox Sports, among the top assistant/associate coaches in the nation among mid-majors.
Howard has been instrumental in the program’s successes - on the court, in the classroom, on the recruiting trail and within the community. The Jaguars won a school record 26 games during the 2007-08 season and nearly equaled that number with 25 wins in 2009-10. In 2010, IUPUI also claimed its first-ever postseason victory at the NCAA Division I level, bettering Hofstra in the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) in Hempstead, N.Y.. IUPUI later hosted its first-ever Division I postseason game before falling to Princeton in a double overtime thriller.
Both Robert Glenn and Alex Young were both pegged First Team All-Summit and Mid-Major All-Americans by assorted publications.
The 2008 calendar year was a banner campaign for Howard as he traveled to Peru as part of the program’s work with Samaritan’s Feet to deliver shoes to those less fortunate. That was after he had coached an Athletes in Action team to an 8-1 record during a 10-day tour of East Asia. Later that same offseason, reigning Summit League Player of the Year George Hill was selected by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the NBA Draft. He became the first early entrant to be chosen in Summit League history and was just the second-ever first rounder in the league’s near 30 year history.
Collectively, IUPUI was coming off its most successful season in program history, having won the aforementioned 26 games behind Hill and fellow guards Gary Patterson and Austin Montgomery. In addition, the Jaguars won a school record 15 Summit League games and were a perfect 15-0 on their home floor.
Since being elevated to the associate post, Howard has been instrumental in IUPUI’s success in the conference and on a national level. In six of the past 10 years, IUPUI has either played for or captured a league title. Plus, IUPUI has produced two league Players of the Year, two Newcomers of the Year, a Sixth Man of the Year and a Defensive Player of the Year.
Howard's work with the Jaguars’ guards has been evidenced by the program being ranked among the nation’s leaders in fewest turnovers per game the past five seasons. In 2008, the Jaguars were the only team in the country to rank among the top five in field goal, free throw and three-point shooting percentages, leading the nation in the three-point shooting. In 2010, the Jaguars ranked second to only Syracuse in field goal shooting and led The Summit in field goal and three-point percentage and steals. In 2011, IUPUI led The Summit and ranked top five nationally in free throw shooting.
In his role as recruiting coordinator, Howard is always highly visible on the recruiting trail, having strung together numerous marquee classes for the Jags. Most recently, he scoured his home state of Kentucky for prep standouts Marcellus Barksdale, Lyonell Gaines and Jordan Shanklin. Gaines later earned a spot on the prestigious Kentucky All-Star Team, becoming IUPUI's second selection in three years. In 2007 IUPUI inked Indiana All-Stars Larry Stone and Alex Young and Kentucky All-Star Aaron Morris. The class of John Ashworth and Adrian Moss, swingman Leroy Nobles and highly touted big man Christian Siakam was rated tops in The Summit by noted insider Clark Francis, editor of The Hoop Scoop. IUPUI’s class ranked No. 93 in the nation with the spring signings of Ashworth, Moss and Siakam.
He helped land Ben Davis standout point guard Greg Rice, keeping the trend going of landing top-notch talent from the city of Indianapolis. In 2010, he returned to his Louisville roots to bring talented forward Donovan Gibbs to the IUPUI program, along with in-state standouts P.J. Hubert and Mitchell Patton.
In 2004, Howard began to further earn acclaim on both the camp and recruiting scene. He spent a week as a clinician at the prestigious Pete Newell Big Man Camp in Hawaii, while also helping secure one of IUPUI’s most prolific recruiting classes in recent memory.
In the early signing period, Howard helped ink Indianapolis high school products George Hill (Broad Ripple) and Craig Swoope (Carmel). Over the summer during the late signing period, Howard helped land a pair of junior college standouts in Michal Vavrek (Joliet JC) and Maushae Byles (Kennedy-King CC). Prior to that, Howard had been equally successful in landing in-state talent including 2002 Marion County Player of the Year Brandon Cole and 2003 Indiana All-Star David Barlow.
Hill later became IUPUI’s second Indiana All-Star, while Vavrek was the second IUPUI recruit to receive All-America mention from the NJCAA. In all, IUPUI has signed seven former Indiana All-Stars since Howard’s promotion to Associate Head Coach, after signing just one in the program’s history previously.
Howard also played a vital role in landing a pair of Division I transfers for the third time in program history. Former Indiana All-Stars Gary Patterson and Austin Montgomery were both named to the league’s All-Newcomer Team after sitting the previous season. Before that, former Indiana All-Star Brandon Cameron and Lawrence North’s Angelo Smith made their mark on the Jags lineup. In 2002-03, the addition’s of Wright State’s Marcus May and Ball State’s Josh Murray in 2002 helped propel the Jags to its most memorable year in program history. That year, Howard was a big part in IUPUI bringing home the Mid-Con Championship and making it’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Under his guidance, the Jaguars posted a 20-14 overall record and a 10-4 mark in conference play.
In 13 seasons in The Summit League (formerly Mid-Continent Conference), Howard has seen 11 players (Don Carlisle, Sylvester Allen, Antoine Lewis, Odell Bradley, Josh Murray, Akeem Clark, George Hill, Austin Montgomery, Gary Patterson, Robert Glenn and Stephen Thomas) recognized on the All-Newcomer Team in the coaches/media polls. In 2005-06, Montgomery became IUPUI’s first-ever Mid-Con Newcomer of the Year in the program’s history and Glenn matched the award in 2009.
In 2001-02, Howard’s first year as Associate Head Coach, the Jaguars showed promise on the mid-major level as they turned in a 15-15 mark and clawed their way to the Mid-Con Tournament Championship game. The recruiting class around which that team was built, featured six talented JUCO players and 2002 Howard County Player of the Year Blair Crawford.
“Todd certainly has the pedigree, knowledge and work ethic to succeed in this profession,” Francis said. “His results at IUPUI have led the Jaguars to unprecedented success. His recruiting prowess has brought quality, impact student-athletes to Indianapolis.”
A native of Louisville, Ky., Howard played collegiately at the University of Louisville where he labels his experience in playing for Hall of Fame Coach Denny Crum as one that enabled him to “play for the best, with the best and against the best.” While reaching the NCAA Tournament three times, the Cardinals also captured two Metro Conference titles.
Upon completion of his playing career, Howard served as a student assistant under Crum for the 1993-94 season. The Cardinals enjoyed a return trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 that season and boasted a roster that included five future NBA players.
While at IUPUI, more than 20 former Jaguars recruited by Howard have gone on to professional careers, led by George Hill’s being drafted and Carlos Knox, Odell Bradley and Matt Crenshaw’s stints overseas. Former IUPUI standout Don Carlisle is still among the elite players in France, while Akeem Clark has starred both in the U.S. and overseas. Howard has coached five All-Americans and 14 All-League players.
Howard graduated from Louisville Ballard High School in 1989 after capturing a state championship as a junior in 1988 and finishing as state runner-up in 1987. Ballard was nationally ranked during each of his four seasons as Howard was named All-District and All-Region each season. He was a high school teammate of current New York Knicks star Allan Houston. Throughout his high school and collegiate career, Howard played with eight future NBA players.
The Howard family is rich in basketball tradition. Todd’s father, Terry, also played at Louisville while his younger brother, Nathan, played at Murray State. In 1999, Howard was listed by The Hoop Scoop as “One of the Games Top 20 Assistant Coaches” and was recently listed by Indiana Basketball News as one of the state’s top assistants.
Howard values the mentorship of Hall of Fame Coach Pete Newell and has served as a camp clinician at his annual ‘Big Man Camp’ on two occasions. He worked with some of the game’s elite post players and learning from the Hall of Fame coach. In 2002, Howard assisted FIBA and USA Basketball in hosting the World Championships in Indianapolis.
The Louisville product prides himself in the development of perimeter players. IUPUI’s success has been predicated by strong backcourts and few have been stronger than the 2007-08 trio of Hill, Patterson and Montgomery. In addition, Howard helped the long-term development of Crenshaw, David Barlow, Johnny Miller, Matt Burks, Rodney Thomas, Derek Williams, Taj Hawkins and Carlos Knox, among others.
“Howard has a relationship with the players that all coaches dream about,” WISH-TV’s Anthony Calhoun said. “The one thing that caught my attention is how much the players love playing for him.”
Howard’s responsibilities range from recruiting, advance scouting, game and practice preparation, player development, compliance liaison, academic monitoring and scheduling.
He is married to the former Patti Martin, also from Louisville.
The couple have a son, Adam, who turns 12 on Jan. 10 and a daughter, Katie, who turns nine on March 5. The Howard family resides in Fishers, Ind..
