Volunteer throws coach Howard Dunbar is in his 13th season working with the New Mexico Highlands track and field team. 
 
In his time working with the Cowgirls, Dunbar has mentored five athletes to eight Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference individual championships and 18 different athletes to 58 All-RMAC honors at both the indoor and outdoor RMAC championships. He has guided the Cowgirls to the javelin title in seven of his nine years coaching the HU women throwers (Carissa Alexander in 2011 and 2012, Michelle Traynham in 2013 and 2015 and Salcia Slack 2014 and Sharon Toako in 2018 and 2019). Lina Robertson also captured the hammer throw title at the RMAC Championship in 2014.
 
During the 2019 outdoor campaign, Dunbar saw Toako establish a new NMHU record in the javelin (49.17 meters/161'-3") to place fifth at the NCAA DII Championships in Kingsville, Texas. Toako also set the RMAC Championship javelin record (48.36/158'7") in capturing the 2018 conference title. Toako earned All American honors in the javelin in both 2018 and 2019. Coach Dunbar's throwers contributed greatly to the Cowgirls run to the team title at the 2018 RMAC Outdoor Championships, guiding his athletes to six All-RMAC placings and garnering 28 team points, capped by Toako's RMAC record throw in the javelin. At the 2014 RMAC meet, Cowgirl throwers scored an amazing 55 points toward the team total of 170.
 
Dunbar has mentored three All-American throwers for the Cowgirl program - Toako (javelin 2018-19) and Traynham (javelin 2015) while guiding eight individuals to the national championships in every throwing event except the indoor weight throw. He has also been instrumental in helping develop the throwing skills of four national qualifiers in the pentathlon and heptathlon for the Cowgirl program
 
In 2012, the Cowgirls' Kemoy Christie became the first thrower under Dunbar’s watch to participate in the NCAA Championships, and, along with Alexander, became the first Cowgirl to qualify for the NCAA championships in the school history. In 2014, NMHU boasted three throwers in four events that participated at the NCAA Outdoor Championships (Slack in the shot put, Traynham in the javelin and Robertson in the shot put and hammer throw).
 
Coach Dunbar and his wife Betty have one son - Steve - who is still the all-time leading hammer thrower at the University of New Mexico.