Howard Thompson

Howard “Howie” Thompson has been named head coach of the Southeastern Community College intercollegiate women’s basketball team that will be reinstated for the first time in nearly 30 years.

The new SCC women’s program will play a limited schedule in 2007-08, but hopes to broaden its schedule and status to full junior college athletic sanction within two years.

The 57-year-old Thompson, a native of Connecticut who played football and baseball at Tampa University in Florida, has also joined the health and physical education staff at SCC. He resides at Little River, S.C.

Thompson previously coached basketball and soccer at the North Carolina School of Math and Science, Durham School of the Arts and Southern Durham High School.

SCC athletic director Clarence Ganus said that discussions for beginning a sport for women had been going on for a while.

“We feel we have the right man in Coach Thompson,” Ganus said. “He has worked to build some strong programs at the high school level and feel he can do a good job of that here also.”

“I’m really looking forward to the challenge ahead,” Thompson said. “I hope I can help make women’s basketball at SCC an exciting and successful endeavor.”

Thompson so far has seven women committed to the program and he would like to have as many as 10.

Work is underway on securing area playing floors for practices and games.

Work on the 2007-08 season schedule is also underway.