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BYU Coach Howard Announces Retirement
The Provo Daily Herald Feature Story
July 13, 2001
PROVO, Utah - Gary Howard, BYU's women's golf coach for the past 24 years, will retire on Aug. 31, the school announced Thursday. During his years at the helm of BYU's program, Howard led teams to the NCAA nationals twice (1982 and 1985) and two Association of IntercollegiateAthletics for Women championship (AIAW) tournaments (1979 and 1980). He has coached four conference champions, six conference player of the year winners and seven individual athletes who qualified for the national championships. Additionally, four of his players earned All-America honors and seven were named Academic All-Americans. Numerous others won titles and honors in state and international amateur events. "I have always tried to emphasize to athletes that there is more than one way to get around a golf course with a good score," said Howard, a member of the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) Hall of Fame. "Each player succeeds based more upon how quickly they learn to adjust strategy rather than how well someone motivates them. In the final analysis, since it is the player that must make the adjustments, I give all credit to them." Since conference play began in 1983, Howard's teams have won three league titles (two Western Athletic Conference and one High Country Athletic Conference) and placed second seven times. Howard's teams have also earned spots in the NCAA Western Regional tournament every year from 1993 to 2001 (with the exception of 1999). In 1996, Howard was named WAC coach of the year. Although he's had his share of success as a coach, Howard finds his real pleasure lies in his friendships and associations with current and former athletes. "Just the other day I got a call from a former player who was thinking about becoming a coach. She called for my opinion, and we talked for 30 minutes about the subject. The fact that she would call me for career advice was gratifying," Howard said. "That's not a huge thing, but it's a meaningful one." He also cites his affiliation with university colleagues as one of his favorite aspects of coaching at BYU. "I've been fortunate to work with a lot of excellent, bright, hard-working people at BYU," said Howard, who was head coach of the extramural ski team for eight years and a volunteer assistant coach for the men's golf team simultaneously in the early 1970s. "I thank them for their time, their advice and their friendship." Howard was the first male coach to be named to the AIAW National Golf Committee and was instrumental in the formation of the National Golf Coaches Association. In 1982, he was named the AIAW Region VII Division I Coach of the Year.
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