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Entering his sixth year as the Bruins' head coach in 2008-09, Howland has led UCLA to back-to-back-to-back Pacific-10 titles (2006-08) and back-to-back-to-back Final Four appearances (2006-08). He also guided the Bruins to a school-record 35 victories in 2008. Additionally, he has won more games in a three-year span (97 from 2006-08) than any other coach in UCLA history. UCLA also won the 2008 Pac-10 Tournament Championship and finished the year with an overall record of 35-4 and a 16-2 mark in the Pac-10.
He became the first UCLA coach since John Wooden to win three straight conference championships in 2008 and is the only other UCLA coach other than Wooden to earn three straight Final Four appearances. Also in 2008, Howland became one of just three coaches in NCAA Division I history to win at least 30 games in three consecutive seasons, joining Adolph Rupp (Kentucky 1947-49) and John Calipari (Memphis 2006-08).
In 2007, the Bruins went undefeated at home (16-0) and ended the season with a 30-6 overall record and a 15-3 mark in the Pac-10. Additionally, the Bruins' 65 wins over the last two seasons are the most in a two-year span in UCLA men's basketball history.
In 2006, he directed UCLA to the NCAA Championship game (for the first time since the Bruins' 1995 national title run) and to an NCAA Regional Championship, 32 victories (tying the then-school record of 32 wins set in 1995) and a 12-game winning streak (longest since 1997) entering the NCAA title contest. UCLA also won the 2006 Pac-10 Tournament Championship (first since 1987).
In his 15th year as a collegiate head coach (he's been a Conference Coach of the Year selection in three different leagues - 2006, Pac-10 Coach of the Year at UCLA/2002, Big East Coach of the Year at Pittsburgh/1997, Big Sky Coach of the Year at Northern Arizona) and in his 28th season of collegiate basketball (as an assistant and head coach), he's 126-45 (.737, 171 games) at UCLA, including 97-17 (.851, 114 games) in his last three seasons as the Bruins' head coach. Howland's career mark is 294-144 (.671, 438 games).
He garnered two National Coach of the Year honors in 2006 - the Jim Phelan Award (CollegeInsider.com) and from Collegehoops.net. Howland was the 2006 Pac-10 Coach of the Year and earned numerous other Conference Coach of the Year honors as well as being named the USBWA Dist. IX and Basketball Times All-West Coast Coach of the Year.
He has led a team to the "Sweet 16" five times in the last seven years -- Pittsburgh in 2002 and 2003 and UCLA in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Howland recorded his 50th Bruin win vs. Oregon State (Feb. 23, 2006), his 200th career win on Nov. 19, 2005, vs. Delaware State and won his 250th game in the 70-65 home win over 19th-ranked USC on Feb. 7, 2007.
After a two-year hiatus, Howland led the Bruins back to the NCAA Tournament in 2005 and joined an elite list of college coaches who have led three teams to the "Big Dance" -- 2006 UCLA (NCAA Finalist)/2005 UCLA, 2003 Pittsburgh ("Sweet 16), 2002 Pittsburgh ("Sweet 16") and 1998 Northern Arizona. Following the 2005 NCAA Tournament, there were only 28 coaches in Tournament history who had guided three different schools to the Tournament. Howland's overall NCAA record is 17-7 (13-4 at UCLA, 4-2 at Pittsburgh and 0-1 at NAU), and in 2006 he made his first trip to the Final Four as a head coach.
Howland's sound philosophies about coaching and recruiting have the Bruins pointed in a winning direction as he enters his sixth season as UCLA's head coach. Howland and his talented staff in 2008 recruited a class that ranked No. 1 in the country by many scouting services and national web sites. The class includes the Gatorade National Player of the Year in Jrue Holiday and four other top 50 players (Drew Gordon, Jerime Anderson, Malcolm Lee and a late addition in J'mison Morgan).
In 2004, the Bruins recruited the nation's No. 4 (HoopMasters.com) incoming freshman class -- led by McDonald's All-Americans, point guard Jordan Farmar and guard Arron Afflalo, along with Parade Magazine All-American guard Josh Shipp and CalHi Sports All-State center/forward Lorenzo Mata-Real.
The 2005 class featured five of high school basketball's top seniors, considered to be among the best 100 players in North America -- Alfred Aboya, Darren Collison, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Michael Roll and Ryan Wright.
In 2006, the Bruins signed three talented players -- McDonald's and Parade All-American James Keefe, Nikola Dragovic and first-team All-CIF guard Russell Westbrook.
In 2007, Howland landed the nation's top freshman, Gatorade National Player of the Year, Kevin Love and the Los Angeles Times' Player of the Year, Chace Stanback.
It takes time and hard work to rebuild a program, and there's not a collegiate head coach or staff in the United States that works harder than Howland and his Bruin assistants.
"It's nice to be recognized, but you can never rest on what you've done," Howland said. "You have to keep working, keep pushing to get better. You've got to have good players. No one understands that more than me. I hope to think every year I'm a better coach than I was the year before. You hope to always improve."
UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero knew he had hired a winner on April 3, 2003, when Howland was announced as the Bruins' 12th head coach in the 87-year storied history of UCLA men's basketball.
"Ben Howland is an outstanding basketball coach, one of the best in the entire country, and he is the man we want to run our program," Guerrero said. "He has built winning programs throughout his career, and we expect that he will return UCLA basketball to the nation's elite. Ben understands that championships are built on defense, intensity, team-work and fundamentals, and those elements are the foundation of his philosophy. His teams come to play every night, and they do an outstanding job on both ends of the floor."
HOWLAND AT UCLA
Howland has demonstrated an ability to turn programs around. At UCLA, in just his second season (2005), he guided the Bruins to a third-place finish (tie) in the Pac-10 and back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002. At Pittsburgh, he took over a losing program, and by his third year (2002), the Panthers were in the NCAA "Sweet 16" and Howland was the consensus National Coach of the Year. In his fourth season (1998) at Northern Arizona, he led the Lumberjacks to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
In 2008, Howland guided the Bruins to a No. 3 final ranking in the Associated Press Poll and a No. 4 ranking in the ESPN/USA Today Poll, a 35-4 overall record and a 16-2 Pac-10 record, winning the Bruins' third straight regular season league title and their second Pac-10 Tournament title in three years. The 35 victories were the most in school history. UCLA made its national-leading 18th Final Four appearance in 2008. Since 1975, the Bruins have advanced to 17 NCAA Regionals, including six since 2000 and nine since 1995.
In 2007, Howland guided the Bruins to a No. 3 final national ranking in the ESPN/USA Today Poll and a No. 7 ranking in the Associated Press Poll (entering the NCAA Tournament), a 30-6 overall record and a 15-3 Pac-10 record, winning UCLA's second-straight regular season conference championship and the school's 29th league title. UCLA made its 17th Final Four appearance in 2007, surpassing North Carolina for the most ever Final Four appearances.
In 2006, Howland directed the Bruins to a No. 7 national ranking (entering the NCAA Tournament), a 32-7 overall record (32 victories tied the then-school record for most wins set in 1995) and a 14-4 Pac-10 record, winning UCLA's first regular season conference championship since 1997 and good for the No. 1 seed in the Pac-10 Tournament (the Bruins won the Pac-10 Tournament, for the first time since 1987). The Bruins' 12-game winning streak going into the NCAA Championship game was UCLA's longest since the end of the 1997 season (when UCLA's 12-game winning streak was snapped by Minnesota in the NCAA Regional Final in San Antonio). The 2006 Bruins will be remembered for their defensive tenacity, allowing opponents only 58.7 points a game overall (39 games/the fourth-lowest total in school history), including 59.3 points in conference games (18 games) and just 56.2 points in NCAA Tournament play (six games).
"Winning championships is all about defense," Howland said. "If you look every year at the Final Four, the best teams in the country always play the best defense. Holding teams to under 40 percent from the field is something that is pretty consistent among Final Four teams."
In just his second season, Howland led the Bruins to an 18-11 overall record, winning four of the last five regular season games, and an 11-7 Pac-10 Conference mark, good for a third-place tie with Stanford. Highlights included returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002; a win over nationally-ranked Washington; four come-from-behind victories in Pac-10 play when the Bruins trailed by double-digit deficits; and four players earning Pac-10 Conference honors - senior Dijon Thompson (first team), freshman Jordan Farmar (Freshman of the Year/Honorable Mention All-Pac-10), freshman Arron Afflalo (Freshman All-Pac-10) and freshman Josh Shipp (Honorable Mention Freshman All-Pac-10).
In his first season (2003-04), Howland inherited a program that in the year before, had a losing season. His first Bruin club was 11-17 overall and 7-11 in the Pac-10 (seventh-place tie). The Bruins did start the season 9-3 overall and 5-0 in league play, had wins over NCAA Tournament teams Michigan State, Washington and Vermont and advanced to the Pac-10 Tournament.
HOWLAND'S CAREER AS AN ASSISTANT COACH
Prior to his Northern Arizona appointment, Howland served as an assistant coach at the University of California, Santa Barbara for 12 years (1982-83 through 1993-94). During that time, he tutored eventual NBA players Brian Shaw and Conner Henry. He also oversaw the development of UCSB's Eric McArthur, the nation's second-leading rebounder in 1990, and Gary Gray, an All-Big West Conference selection. In Howland's last seven years at the school, the Gauchos advanced to postseason play on five occasions.
HOWLAND'S PLAYING CAREER
Howland enjoyed a standout playing career at Weber State, where he was named the team's Most Valuable Defensive Player in both 1979 and 1980. He led the Wildcats to two Big Sky championships and a pair of NCAA Tournament berths.
Howland's basketball legacy of success dates back to his high school days. After beginning his prep career as a highly-decorated player at Dos Pueblos High School in Santa Barbara, Calif., he finished with two Suburban League Most Valuable Player honors at Cerritos (Calif.) High School. He was also a two-time selection to the All-California Interscholastic Federation list. His collegiate career began at Santa Barbara City College in 1975-76 and 1976-77, where he was named team captain and led the Vaqueros to the California state finals in 1978.
Following his collegiate career, Howland spent time playing professionally in Uruguay. He landed his first NCAA Div. I coaching job in the 1981 season as a graduate assistant at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., where he coached future NBA Hall of Fame and Utah Jazz guard John Stockton, before moving to UCSB the following year (1982-83).
THE HOWLAND FAMILY
Howland and his wife, Kim, a former Weber State cheerleader, have two children, Meredith (23), a recent graduate from the University of Pittsburgh, and Adam (21). Howland has a bachelor's degree in physical education from Weber State University (1979) and a master's degree in administration and physical education from Gonzaga (1981).
THE BEN HOWLAND FILE
Birthdate: May 28, 1957 in Lebanon, OR
Education: Bachelor of Arts-Physical Education, Weber State University, 1979; Master's Degree-Administration and Physical Education, Gonzaga University, 1981
Date Announced as UCLA Head Coach: April 3, 2003
Education: Wife is the former Kim Zahnow; daughter, Meredith and son, Adam
Coaching Career
2003-present - Head Coach, UCLA
1999-2003 - Head Coach, University of Pittsburgh
1994-1999 - Head Coach, Northern Arizona
1982-1994 - Assistant Coach, UC Santa Barbara
1981-1982 - Graduate Assistant, Gonzaga University
Coaching Honors
2007 - NABC District 15 Coach of the Year
2006 - He garnered two National Coach of the Year honors -- the Jim Phelan Award (CollegeInsider.com) and from Collegehoops.net. Howland was the 2006 Pac-10 Coach of the Year and earned numerous other Conference Coach of the Year honors from CBS Sportsline.com, SI.com. and CollegeInsider.com, as well as USBWA Dist. IX and Basketball Times All-West Coast Coach of the Year.
2004 - Howland's 1997-98 Northern Arizona club inducted into the NAU Athletic Hall of Fame
2003- Dapper Dan Award, honoring Pittsburgh's Sportsman of the Year
2002 - National Coach of the Year (AP, Naismith, USBWA, ESPN Magazine, The Sporting News); USBWA Distritc Coach of the Year; Big East Coach of the Year; Basketball America Big East Coach of the Year; Basketball Times Big East Coach of the Year; Pittsburgh Tribune-Review City of Champions Award
1997 - Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year
Playing Career
1980 - played professionally in Uruguay
1978-80 - Weber State - named WSU's defensive MVP on two occasions; led Wildcats to two Big Sky Championships and two NCAA Tournament Appearances
1976-78 - Santa Barbara City College - led the Vaqueros to CA State finals in 1978
1974-76 - Cerritos, CA HS - two-time All-CIF; two-time Suburban League MVP
1973-74 - Dos Pueblos HS (Santa Barbara, CA)
