Howard faces different challenge as the Columbus State women’s basketball coach

Anita Howard has turned around two struggling programs. Now she is tasked with taking a successful program to national prominence.

Howard was named the Columbus State women’s basketball coach Friday by athletic director Todd Reeser.

Howard replaces Jonathan Norton, who resigned in April after seven seasons and three straight trips to the NCAA Division II tournament.

“Coach Norton has done a great job. I am excited to take what he has done and move it to the next level,” Howard said.

Howard comes to CSU after a two-year stint at Livingstone College, an NCAA Division II school in Salisbury, N.C., where she went 41-14. Livingstone had suffered through three straight losing seasons — with a combined record of 27-55 — before Howard’s arrival.

Her first season she went 26-2, winning 23 straight games at one point, the longest winning streak in HBCU history. Livingstone went 15-12 last season.

Prior to coaching at Livingstone, Howard was the head coach at Salem College for two seasons (2012-13 and 2013-14), finishing with a 39-16 record. In her final season at Salem, she led Salem to the Great South Athletic Conference championship and a 22-5 record.

Howard said the difference in taking over a successful program as opposed to a struggling one is about attitude.

“The mentality is already there. They have that championship mentality,” she said. “They know what it takes. I don’t have to instill that in them. It is just building upon that hunger to be even more successful.”

Reeser said he couldn’t afford to let the program backslide.

“The most difficult part of this process, where there is a lot of interest, is to make sure you are thorough,” he said. “She really stood out for me.

“I felt like the college experience was important, but I looked at everybody. It was about fit and what we needed for this program not only right now but where we are going. I couldn’t afford to backslide here, and I don’t think we are going to do that at all.”

Before becoming a head coach at Salem, Howard was an assistant at Saint Augustine (N.C.) University, Shaw University and Winston-Salem State.

Howard is a Montgomery, Ala., native. She was part of a military family that moved around several times. She graduated from Beach High in Savannah in 1998. Beach won four Region 3-4A championships. She was the state player of the year in 1998.

She played basketball and volleyball at Fort Valley State and Armstrong State.

Howard is just the third head coach to take the helm of the CSU women’s program.

Before Norton, Jay Sparks coached for 20 seasons, going 367-231 and taking the team to back-to-back final four appearances in 2000 and 2001.

This story was originally published June 3, 2016 at 11:44 AM with the headline "Howard faces different challenge as the Columbus State women’s basketball coach."