Cassandra “Sandy” Howard, a native of Henderson Tennessee, was inducted into the Military Basketball Hall of Fame, in Kansas City, on May 26, 2023. Howard is the all-time leading scorer in Chester County High School history with a total of 3,619 points.
She played three years of basketball for Union University after being named to the Ohio Valley Conference All-Freshman team during one season at Middle Tennessee State University.
While at Union, Howard was named NAIA All-America first team and NAIA Scholar Athlete. She set the Union record with 756 points in a season, which now ranks fourth all-time in Union history. Her 24.4 points per game was a Union record that stood for 30 years. She now sits in second place all-time.
After graduating from Union, Howard played professionally for one season with the first Women’s American Basketball Association, only stopping because the league disbanded.
Howard then played eight years for the United States Military from 1990-98. She led the All-Army basketball team to eight consecutive Armed Forces Championships while averaging 22.2 points per game. She was named the Armed Forces MVP six times, earning eight Gold Medals. While stationed in South Korea from 1990-92, Howard was selected as the 8th Army Tournament MVP, averaging 29.2 points per game. In a second tour in South Korea, she was again named 8th Army MVP.
In 1992, Howard was named the Army Female Athlete of the Year and was featured in Sports Illustrated, November 28, 1994. She was inducted into the AAU Hall of Fame in 1996.
Howard transitioned from player to coach with the All-Army and Armed Forces teams. She coached her team to three Armed Forces Championships and one AAU Championship.
Howard is a dedicated retired combat United States Army veteran with over 24 years of honorable service.
