MIKE HOWERTON
Named BCA President’s Award Recipient By Keith Loria Mike Howerton, CEO of AZBilliards, has been named the recipient of this year’s BCA President’s Award. “I was pretty shocked,” he says. “It wasn’t even on my radar that I could win something like this. I was blown away. I went to the BCA website and saw the list of those who have won, and to think my name is among that list now is mindboggling.” When he founded the website AZBilliards.com in 1998, Howerton was only looking to cover the Arizona pool scene. It didn’t take long for billiard enthusiasts to take notice, and his web traffic began soaring. That’s when he made the decision to transition from a local site to a national site, and it’s since gone international. The site has the go-to database of players, tournaments results and plenty of 28 | BCA INSIDER • EXPO ISSUE 2024
features and stories of players and topics those in the industry care about. “When he created AZBilliards, he brought pool news into the computer age,” says Jerry Forsyth, long-time billiard journalist and commentator, who partnered with Howerton at AZBilliards and even did a podcast with him. “The marriage of Accu-Stats into the AZB family, it now serves as a library of historic matches that go back five decades. In short, fans and researchers have a one-stop source to study the game, a source that will continue to grow for many years to come.” Shane Tyree, CEO of the BCA, has always appreciated Howerton’s support of the organization. “Mike volunteers his time as a BEF board member and for other groups whenever it’s requested, and he al-
ways lends a hand to BCA whenever asked,” he says. “Mike has been instrumental in assisting the BCA with managing and maintaining the BCA Pro Player ranking system. And he continuously supports the BCA with free promotions and advertising on his website AZBilliards.com.” Additionally, the AZBilliards forums are the most interactive platform billiard aficionados have today to share ideas and opinions as well as to trade, buy and sell billiards equipment. “The AZBilliards forums still have the largest collection of voices chattering about the industry on a daily basis,” Tyree says. Philippe Singer, BCA chairman and vice president of marketing for the Predator Group, notes Howerton has always been there when the BCA need-
