Georgia Southern Director of Athletics Tom Kleinlein announced today the hiring of Anita Howard as the head women’s basketball coach for the Eagles. Howard comes to Statesboro from Columbus State University, where she has served as head coach of the Cougars for the past three seasons.
A press conference introducing Howard to the Georgia Southern University community will take place on Monday, April 1 at 11 a.m. in Bishop Field House at Paulson Stadium. The public is invited to the event as well.
Howard becomes the eighth head coach in Georgia Southern women’s basketball history and the first African American female head coach. In essence, she is returning home as Howard graduated from Armstrong State University in 2003, which consolidated with Georgia Southern in 2017.
“We are incredibly excited to have Anita Howard lead our women’s basketball program into its next chapter,” Kleinlein said. “She is a rising star in the coaching ranks and her ties to Georgia make her the logical choice to build Eagle women’s basketball into a successful and competitive program in the Sun Belt Conference.”
“It’s really great to be at Georgia Southern University and it’s an exciting time to be an EAGLE!” Howard said. “This is an incredible opportunity to return close to home, and to represent my alma mater. I can’t wait to hit the ground running and do what I do best. It’s time for the Eagle women’s basketball team to take flight. I want to express my sincerest appreciation to incoming President Marrero and Director of Athletics Tom Kleinlein for trusting me to lead this program. I’m truly honored and blessed to serve as the next head women’s basketball coach at Georgia Southern.”
Over the past three seasons, Howard has led Columbus State to two NCAA Division II Championships appearances and an NCAA Elite Eight appearance in 2016-17. Her overall record is 66-25 over the three seasons, including an outstanding 45-18 mark in Peach Belt Conference play.
Prior to Columbus State, Howard served as the head coach at Livingstone College for two seasons and Salem College for three seasons. She led Livingstone to a Top 5 national ranking and a record 23-game winning streak, while also turning around a Salem College program that won just four games before her arrival and directing the Spirits to 17- and 22-win seasons, earning Great South Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors. In seven seasons as a collegiate head coach, she has compiled a 146-55 overall record, for an outstanding .726 winning percentage.
Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Howard was a standout high school player at A.E. Beach High School in Savannah under the legendary Ronald Booker. She played collegiately for three seasons at Fort Valley State University, earning SIAC Defensive Player of the Year honors all three years. She then transferred to Armstrong State for the 2002-03 season, where she helped the Pirates compile a school-record 27-4 mark, capturing the Peach Belt Conference regular season and tournament title while leading the team to their first NCAA Championships appearance.
She graduated magna cum laude from Armstrong State in 2003 with her bachelor’s degree in fine arts design. Beginning her coaching career in Savannah, she was the head coach at Savannah High before moving into the collegiate ranks as an assistant coach at Winston-Salem State, Shaw (N.C.) and St. Augustine’s (N.C.) before beginning her head coaching career at Division III Salem College in 2012.
Howard and her husband, Theo, have three children: Jason, Thallan and Theo II.
Photo Courtesy GSU Athletics
Tagged with: Georgia Southern Sun Belt
