COLUMBUS, Miss. - The W Department of Athletics is pleased to announce Coach Howard White, Jr. as the new head coach of the women's basketball program at Mississippi University for Women.

White is excited about the reboot of The W's women's basketball program and stated that "this is an amazing opportunity for me to come in and restart a program with such a rich history and to coach at an institution that emphasizes success in the classroom and on the court."

The Wilmot, Ark. native comes to The W after serving two seasons as the head women's basketball coach at Concordia College - Alabama, in the historic city of Selma, Ala.

As a first time head coach, White found success coaching the Lady Hornets. At the helm of the program, White led his team to a 26-3 record and an USCAA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship during the 2015-16 season. In his second season, White repeated his success with a 25-4 record and another USCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship, marking the sixth national championship in Concordia's history.

While at Concordia, White recruited and coached several All-American players including 2015-16 Player of the Year and first team All-American Shuntavia Harris; Academic All-American Carshava Suttun; second team All-Americans Erica Ousley and Lashanique Youngblood; 2016-17 first team All-American Teondra Crawford; and 2017 national tournament MVP Traniya Pitts.

Before his time at Concordia, White served as assistant coach at Aiken Technical College (2009-11) and later at Benedict College, where he helped the Tigers win the 2011-12 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament.

His coaching resume also includes stints as the head assistant coach at St. Augustine's College, assistant coach at Bethune-Cookman University, and assistant coach at the University of North Florida.  At Bethune Cookman, White helped bring in one of the best recruiting classes in the nation. And at UNF he helped the Ospreys rise from an NCAA Division II program to NCAA Division I.

Coach White began his coaching career at Florida State College at Jacksonville where he helped the Stars win two Mid-Florida Conference Championships.

As a player, White was a standout in his hometown at Wilmot High School. He served as the team captain and led the team in scoring his senior year.

White will begin his journey as an Owl on Monday, April 30.