Athletic Department Announcement

We are excited to announce the hiring of Ryan Howard to be the next head coach of Mustang Football!

Coach Howard has spent the last two years working as an analyst and offensive assistant for the University of Missouri under Head Coach Eli Drinkwitz. Coach Howard’s duties at Mizzou included assisting with quarterbacks and receivers, developing practice scripts, coordinating offensive gameplans with Coach Drinkwitz and breaking down 3rd down gameplans.

Before moving to the SEC, Coach Howard spent seven seasons coaching at UCA, where he had started at quarterback during his playing days. His coaching career has given him high-level experience in many different aspects of the game. In 2015, Coach Howard was named director of football operations at UCA.

From 2016-17, Coach Howard served as tight ends coach and also directed the Bears’ football summer camp for recruits. From 2018-21, he coached receivers and worked as special teams coordinator. 

Coach Howard’s love of football started in Alabama, where he played for Birmingham powerhouse Vestavia Hills. In college, Coach Howard passed for more than 4,000 yards and 42 touchdowns for the Bears. 

In discussions with his head coaches and colleagues, we learned that Coach Howard is not only gifted with a deep understanding of the game, but he also understands how to build a football culture rooted in faith, honor and respect. We are excited for what this means for our young men and our football program at CAC, and we look forward to seeing him build on the foundations established by longtime head coach Tommy Shoemaker.

“My wife and I are super excited to get back to the area and get started. I cannot wait to get to know our student-athletes and build relationships with them. We have a lot of talent at CAC that we hope to build on and develop. It’s going to be a fun journey, and we’re going to play some fun football, that’s for sure.” – Ryan Howard

Coach Howard and his wife, Stephanie, will be moving to central Arkansas in February. We look forward to having him on campus very soon and leading our football program into the future.

Please help us welcome Coach Howard and his wife to Mustang Mountain!