The Northwestern Wildcats announced via Instagram that they have promoted assistant coach Margaret Howe to Associate Head Coach for the 2026-27 season.
Howe first joined Northwestern as an assistant in August of 2023 after she spent seven seasons at Providence College, a Mid-Major school that races in the Big East, serving as both an assistant and associate head coach there from 2016-2023.
She also has head coaching experience, spending the 2015-2016 season as the Head Coach at St. Joseph’s College of Maine, a Division 3 program.
This promotion comes at a crucial time for the Northwestern program, whose head coach Rachel Stratton-Mills recently became President of the CSCAA after spending two years as the President-Elect.
Northwestern has seen a very strong performance over the last few years, and the men had a historic year. They broke 12 school records at the Big Ten Championships to finish 4th overall, coming in ahead of Wisconsin by 7.5 points. This was their highest team finish since 2006, when they had legendary alumnus Matt Grevers still with the program.
The Wildcats went on to finish 26th overall at the NCAA Championships, scoring 39 points and picked up relay points for the first time since 2008.
Howe swam collegiately for Boston College from 2006-2010. She has bachelor’s degrees in Communication and Theater, and she received a Master’s Degree in Higher Education from Providence College.
Probably wanted to keep her from returning to PC as Head Coach! Smart move.