Kansas basketball assistant coach Jerrance Howard has been selected to participate in a virtual seminar designed to open up opportunities for the top assistants in college athletics.
Formerly known as Villa 7, the TopConnect Virtual Seminar was founded in 2003 by former VCU Athletic Director Richard Sander as a way for college assistants to connect with mid-major athletic directors, opening up networking opportunities for both parties.
Howard, who has been with Bill Self and the Jayhawks since 2013, also has worked as an assistant coach for Bruce Weber (Illinois), Billy Gillispie (Texas A&M and Kentucky) and Larry Brown (SMU).
Earlier this spring, he was [named by ESPN.com as one of college basketball’s top 40 coaches under age 40][1] and his impact at Kansas, both as a recruiter and in connecting with the players themselves, has been noticed throughout college basketball.
The featured presenters in Thursday and Friday’s TopConnect virtual seminar are: Dayton head coach Anthony Grant, Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes, former Notre Dame women’s basktball coach Muffet McGraw, Tennessee Athletic Director Phillip Fulmer and three-time NFL Coach of the Year, Mike Smith.
In addition to presentations from those coaches, three panels of ADs will discuss what they look for in hiring a coach while also addressing the expectations of the head coach and how to build a successful basketball program.
A variety of other presenters will cover the coaching search process, social media and building a personal brand and the role of the media. A panel of Division I university presidents will discuss college basketball’s impact on the business side of college athletics.
TopConnect works in conjunction with East Tennessee State University’s Doctoral program in Global Sport Leadership.
[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2020/may/15/ku-assistant-jerrance-howard-one-of-espn/
