Troy appoints NC State assistant Adam Howard as new coach

Field Level Media|published: Sat 28th March, 21:57 2026

NCAA Basketball: Fairleigh Dickinson at Nebraska

Nov 13, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Fred Hoiberg and assistant coach Adam Howard watch play during the first half against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

North Carolina State assistant Adam Howard is the new head coach at Troy, the school announced Saturday night.

Howard replaces Scott Cross, who left after the NCAA Tournament to become head coach at Georgia Tech. Cross finished his seven-year tenure with five straight 20-win campaigns.

Troy went 22-12 this season and reached the NCAA tourney for the second straight season. The Trojans, seeded 13th, were routed 76-47 by Nebraska in the first round of this year's tournament.

Howard will look to continue the success. He had a two-season stint as an assistant with Troy (2016-18) earlier in his career with the Trojans qualifying for the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

Last season was Howard's lone campaign at NC State, which went 20-14 and reached the NCAA Tournament before losing to the Texas in the First Four. Wolfpack coach Will Wade departed for LSU after the season.

Howard's other stops as an assistant coach include Southern Miss (2012-14), Tennessee (2014), South Alabama (2018-22) and Nebraska (2022-25).

Howard resigned at Tennessee in November 2014, citing personal reasons, during a time when he and then-Volunteers coach Donnie Tyndall were being investigated by the NCAA for recruiting violations at Southern Miss, where Tyndall was previously the head coach.

--Field Level Media

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