Veteran coach James Howard joins Vanessa Blair's coaching staff at Bethune-Cookman University for his first year with the Lady Wildcats in the 2011-12 season, joining B-CU as the Recruiting Coordinator.

Prior to B-CU Howard joined the Howard women's program in 2008 and was promoted to Associate Head Coach in April 2010. Prior to Howard, he was an assistant with the women's programs at Delaware State, George Mason, Maryland, and Georgetown, and with the men's team at Wesley College and Greensboro College.

He began his coaching career at Wesley as a student assistant in 1987. He was named head women's coach four years later and served in that capacity from 1991-97. During his tenure, Wesley finished in the top five in NCAA Division III field goal percentage five times.

Howard's primary responsibility at B-CU is as recruiting coordinator.

At Delaware State, he played a key role in the Lady Hornets signing two McDonald's All-Americans.

"Coach Howard has a golden touch when it comes to recruiting and I am looking forward to our program flourishing in that area," Blair said. "He brings over 27 years of coaching women's basketball to our program. He is a class act and true veteran of the women's game."

Howard is a member of the WBCA and BCA coaches associations, was chosen by the NBA to do a coaches clinic in Bermuda, and founded the first chapter of Future Farmers of America in Washington, D.C.

He received his bachelor's degree from Greensboro College in 1991. Howard is originally from Washington, D.C. He is single and lives in Daytona Beach, and has two sons, Marco and Michael Howard, 23 & 21 respectively.