Matt Howard Named Horizon League Scholar-Athlete of the Month
Butler junior Matt Howard, who helped lead the
Bulldogs to the NCAA Final Four, has been named U. S. Army Horizon
League Scholar-Athlete of the Month for March. He’s the
fourth Butler student-athlete to be honored by the league this
school year.
Howard (Connersville) helped Butler to a league-record performance
during the month of March. The Bulldogs (33-5) captured the
Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship and then posted
NCAA Tournament wins over UTEP, Murray State, top-seeded Syracuse
and second-seeded Kansas State. At the NCAA Final Four,
Butler defeated Michigan State, 52-50, before falling in the
national championship game to Duke, 61-59. Howard, who was
named Most Valuable Player at the Horizon League Men’s
Basketball Championship, averaged 9.8 points and 4.6 rebounds
during Butler’s unbeaten march through March.
The 6-8 Butler forward, who carries a 3.77 grade point average as a
finance major, also was recognized for his successful performance
in the classroom. He was named to the ESPN The
Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team, and he was
selected as the Division I-AAA AD’s Association
Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He further earned the NCAA Elite
88 Award at the Final Four.
The Horizon League instituted the U.S. Army Scholar-Athlete of the
Month awards as a way to recognize outstanding academic and
athletic achievement by its student-athletes. To be eligible
for the honor, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative
grade-point average of 3.20 or better (on a 4.00 scale), have
completed at least one year at the member institution, passed 24
semester or 36 quarter hours and perform well during the
month’s competition. Winners are selected by the
League’s faculty athletics representatives, from nominations
provided by sports information directors.
Previous Butler winners this year were men’s soccer players
Boris Gatzky (August/September) and Conner Burt (November) and
cross country runner Andy Baker (October).
(Photos by John Fetcho)
