Billy Howard is entering his 4th year as the Head Coach of the Lander University Esports program. During his time, the Bearcats have claimed 27 championships, including 8 postseason conference championships and 19 regular season titles. Amassing a 407-242 overall record at Lander, Howard led the Bearcats to a 3rd place finish in Valorant at NECC Nationals in 2026.
Prior to coming to South Carolina, Howard was the Director of Collegiate Operations at Generation Esports, a tournament host and platform focused on providing competitive and educational offerings through esports from middle school to college and beyond. He also sat on the HSEL Board of Directors and was on the RSAA (Riot Games) College League of Legends Championship Selection Committee in 2022 and 2024 along with serving as the NJCAAE Competition Committee Chair for 3 years and was a contributor to the ESPN College League of Legends Coaches Poll. Howard also served on the Kansas City Esports Coalition Advisory Council.
A 13-year veteran in the college scene, Howard previously coached at the University of Northern Iowa (2014-2017), University of North Georgia (2017-2018), Arizona State University (2018-2019), Hawkeye Community College (2019-2021), Missouri Western State University (2021-2022), and Florida Southern College (2022-2023). In his career, he has collected 99 playoff appearances, 23 postseason tournament championships, including 2 national championships in Overwatch and Rainbow 6 Siege. He has also claimed 39 regular season championship titles in 13 years and currently sits second all-time in career collegiate wins with a 763-452 record (63%).
