Benjamin Clark Howland (born May 28, 1957) is an American college basketball coach who most recently served as the men's head coach at Mississippi State University from to 2015 to 2022. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Northern Arizona University from 1994 to 1999, the University of Pittsburgh from 1999 to 2003, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 2003 to 2013. Howland became the first men's coach in modern college basketball history to be fired shortly after winning an outright power-conference title. He is one of the few NCAA Division I coaches to take four teams to the NCAA tournament. Early years and playing career Born in Lebanon, Oregon, Howland first attended Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, California, for a year then transferred to Cerritos High School in Cerritos, where he earned his diploma. While at Cerritos, he was a two-time All-CIF and two-time Suburban League Most Valuable Player in basketball. After high school, Howland played college basketball for Santa Barbara City College then transferred to Weber State College in Ogden, Utah, a member of the Big Sky Conference. Known as a defensive specialist, he later played professional basketball in Uruguay. He earned a bachelor's degree in physical education at Weber State and a master's degree in administration at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Playing career 1972–73: Dos Pueblos High School, Goleta, California 1973–76: Cerritos High School, Cerritos, California 1976–78: Santa Barbara City College, led the Vaqueros to California State finals in 1978. 1978–80: Weber State College, named WSC's defensive MVP both years and led Wildcats to consecutive Big Sky titles and NCAA tournament appearances in 1979 and 1980. 1980: Played professionally in Bohemios First Division Uruguay, South America. Coaching career Early head coaching career Howland wanted to be a coach since his teenage years living in Santa Barbara. At age 24, he became a graduate assistant at Gonzaga. His childhood friend Jay Hillock, the new head coach, recruited Howland. At Gonzaga, one of Howland's duties was to guard future basketball Hall of Famer John Stockton in practice. After a year at Gonzaga, Howland got his first paid coaching job at the University of California, Santa Barbara (1982–1994) as an assistant to Ed DeLacy. After Jerry Pimm replaced DeLacy in 1983, Howland helped Pimm lead the Gauchos to five postseason appearances between 1988 and 1994. Starting in 1992, Howland applied for head coaching