Abigail Howard - Sport Administrator - Men's Tennis Support Staff

Abigail Howard

Title:
Sport Administrator
Email:
abigail.howard@westpoint.edu

Sport Oversight: Men’s Basketball, Men’s Swim & Dive, Women’s Swim & Dive, Men’s Tennis, Women’s Tennis

Arriving at Army West Point with over a decade of legal and administration experience spanning collegiate athletics, local government and a national governing body for sport in the Olympic and Paralympic Movement, Abigail Howard joined the staff at West Point as a Senior Associate Athletics Director & Corporate Counsel in October 2022. In March 2024, she was named Deputy Athletics Director, Chief Administrative Officer & General Counsel. Starting in January 2025, Howard was appointed Interim Director of Athletics following Mike Buddie’s departure from the organization. A member of the 2024-25 NCAA Pathway Program, Howard is also the Chair of the NCAA Swimming and Diving Rules Committee.

A member of the Athletics Director’s Senior Leadership Team and Executive Staff, Howard’s primary areas of oversight include human resources, employee engagement, legal affairs, employment, sponsorship, licensing, game agreements, policy & procedure, and departmental strategic initiatives while consulting and providing guidance to the Director of Athletics and Board of Directors on all matters of importance for Army West Point Athletics. Howard also serves as a member of the Army-Navy Steering Committee that bids, organizes, and executes America’s most traditional and enduring rivalry game in the sport of Football.

Prior to joining the team at Army West Point, Howard spent four years at USA Swimming, Inc. in Colorado Springs, Colo., most recently as the Senior Director for Legal & Membership Affairs. She was responsible for the strategic vision and implementation of USA Swimming's Safe Sport program, member services, and USA Swimming governance matters. She provided oversight and management to USA Swimming's Membership Affairs division.

Before joining USA Swimming, Howard was the Associate Commissioner for Legal, Governance and Compliance/Senior Woman Administrator for the America East Conference from 2016-18. She represented the conference in all legal matters including contractual negotiations, licensing and sponsorship agreements, policies and procedures, and labor and employment issues as in-house counsel. She administered the conference's compliance program, managed student-athlete academic programs, and coordinated NCAA legislation and governance strategy. She was the primary liaison to general counsels, senior woman administrators, compliance administrators, faculty athletics representatives, and academic advisors for the nine-member conference. She was also the sport administrator for men's and women's swimming and diving.

Howard also gained experience interpreting and enforcing rules while working at the NCAA office in the enforcement division. From 2008-12, joining the NCAA staff as in the Postgraduate Internship Program, she was elevated to Assistant Director of Enforcement where she developed, investigated, and processed cases involving violations of NCAA Division I men's basketball recruiting legislation.

In between stints at the NCAA office and the America East Conference, Howard was the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the Marion County Prosecutor's Office in Indianapolis from 2013-16.

Howard earned a B.S.B.A. with honors in marketing, transportation and logistics from The Ohio State University in 2005. She was a four-year letterwinner on the women's swimming and diving team. She received her JD with a certificate in taxation from the University of Kansas School of Law in 2008.