DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced the start of a crowdfunding campaign to fund a memorial scholarship in honor of ERAU Athletics Hall of Famer Howard Walls Jr. on Wednesday. According to Senior Director of Athletic Development Matt Wilson, the initial goal for the Howard Walls Jr. Memorial Term Scholarship crowdfunding campaign is to raise $3,000 for a scholarship ($1,000 per year for three years) to be awarded to a current member of the ERAU men's or women's track and field team. Ultimately, the goal is to raise enough funds to transition the term scholarship into an endowed memorial scholarship.

"Howard was somebody everybody liked, but not because he was a great athlete, but because he was a great person," said Chris Harter, Walls' former teammate and the driving force behind the scholarship. "He motivated and encouraged every teammate he was around and every athlete he coached. Former teammates and I feel that Howard's name is one the track program should hear on a daily basis because he possessed the qualities of an All-American on and off the track."
 
Walls competed for ERAU's track and field team from 2005-10 and was inducted into the ERAU Athletics Hall of Fame on January 19, 2019. In his freshman campaign, Walls became the first ERAU Men's Track and Field student-athlete to earn All-America honors with his fifth-place finish in the 60m hurdles at the NAIA Indoor National Championships. He repeated as an All-American in that event in 2008 and 2009, setting the ERAU record of 8.08 in a third-place finish in his senior year.
 
Walls also achieved All-America status in the 110m hurdles after finishing fifth at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships in 2010. He set a school record in the 110m hurdles of 14.11 in 2008 and that mark still stands as an Embry-Riddle best.
 
After exhausting his eligibility, Walls remained involved with the ERAU Track & Field program as a graduate assistant coach, working primarily with the hurdlers. He helped Breanna Goring, Alex Dori and Crystal Bardge hit national championship qualifying marks, and played a role in Bardge winning national titles in both the indoor 60m hurdles and the 100m outdoor hurdles.
 
"We all knew 'H-Dub' as a lovable, fun-loving, hard-working, dedicated friend and teammate," ERAU Head Track & Field Coach Mike Rosolino said. "I could write a book about all that Howard has meant to me and to the program. He was one of the fathers of our program and the very first All-American in our track and field program's history.  He raised our program and everyone around him to a new level. We will certainly miss Howard and his smile.  I have never known anyone who had a negative thing to say about 'H-Dub'.  He will always be remembered in our program."
 
Originally from Augusta, Georgia, Walls earned his undergraduate degree in Aeronautical Science in 2010 and completed his master's degree in Aviation in 2012. He was the Director of Quality, Compliance and Safety-Stations at Allegiant Airlines at the time of his passing.
 
Click here to go to to make a donation to the Howard Walls Jr. Memorial Scholarship