Skagit Valley College basketball coach celebrates 400th win
Skagit Valley College’s head men’s basketball coach Carl Howell achieved his 400th Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) win Nov. 20 at the SVC versus Green River College game. Howell is one of only a few select NWAC coaches who have won 400 games or more, and the SVC Cardinals are currently the No. 1 ranked NWAC men’s basketball team.
“Basketball is a team sport so any milestone that is reached is always a total team effort,” said Howell. “This would not have been possible without all the great players, assistant coaches, administrators, and of course, my family.”
Howell is a proud SVC alum and was named head coach in July 2019. This is his 18th season, and he has an overall 77.3% career winning average. This past season, the SVC Cardinals won 25 games during the regular season and set a school record during Howell's first season back at his alma mater.
The Cardinals earned their first post season berth in six years, but the NWAC tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. The Cardinals set a school record with 22 straight wins to start the season and were the No. 1 ranked NWAC team for eight straight weeks.
Howell has also coached at Tacoma Community College (TCC), Eastern Washington University, and Central Washington University. TCC won two NWAC Men’s Basketball Championships in 2002 and 2012 during Howell’s tenure. He earned a B.S. in physical education from Central Washington and a master’s degree in education from City University. He and his wife, Jeri, are the parents of two sons – Cameron, 28, who played for SVC in 2016-17, and Connor, 22, who attends Central Washington University – and four chocolate labs, Captain, Coco, Champ, and Chief.
To read more about Howell’s winning career, go to athletics.skagit.edu.