Matt Howard Named Scholar-Athlete of the Month

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. -- Butler senior Matt Howard, who led Butler to a second straight league tournament championship and a fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, has been named Horizon League Male Scholar-Athlete of the Month for March.  It’s the third time this season that the Butler forward has earned the league’s academic honor.

Howard helped the Bulldogs to a 6-0 record in March, including championships in the Horizon League Tournament and the NCAA Southeast Regional.  The 6-8 forward from Connersville was named the Most Valuable Player at the 2011 Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship, and he became the first player in league history to earn Horizon League All-Tourament recognition for four consecutive years.  He also was named to the All-Tournament Team at the 2011 NCAA Southeast Regional.

The Bulldogs’ leading scorer and rebounder, Howard was selected as the Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year and was chosen to the Lou Henson Mid-Major All-America Team.  He averaged 16.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in the Bulldogs’ six games in March.

A finance major, Howard boasts a 3.77 cumulative grade point average, including a 4.00 GPA for the fall semester.  He’s a three-time Academic All-American and was named the 2010-11 Academic All-American of the Year.  He further earned the NCAA’s “Elite 88” Award, given to the participating athlete at the Final Four with the highest GPA, for the second consecutive year.

The Horizon League instituted the Scholar-Athlete of the Month award 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.