Buffs Head Football Coach
WT Athletic Director Michael McBroom and New Head Football Coach Hunter Hughes
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Hunter Hughes always wanted to be a head football coach, but not just any job would do. He had some opportunities along the way but decided to wait for the right job and now he has found it.

Hughes, the defensive coordinator at Colorado State-Pueblo the last ten years, was introduced today as the new head football coach at West Texas A&M.

WT Athletic Director Michael McBroom said, "Hunter has a proven track record of emphasizing academic success, of consistently winning at a high level over an extended period of time and promoting a balanced and positive student-athlete experience that includes integration into the campus and community."

Since the 2008 season, Hughes has consistently put defenses on the field that not only led the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, but rank among the top units in the nation. He was named FootballScoop.com Division II Coordinator of the Year finalist in 2014 and guided the ThunderWolves’ defense that led all of Division II in scoring defense (12.8 points allowed per game), passes intercepted (29), defensive touchdowns (7) and turnovers gained (43) as CSUP won the NCAA Division II Football National Championship. The defensive line totaled 3.8 sacks per game to finish fourth nationally and CSUP ranked 13th in total defense allowing just 296.8 yards per game.

In his nine seasons coaching at CSUP, the defense has produced 14 All-Americans and 67 All-RMAC performers.

“I am excited about being the head coach at West Texas A&M,” Hughes said. “I know they have the type of players to compete and win a national championship. It is hard to leave a place that I was part of building from scratch, but the people here at West Texas A&M, and their commitment to the student-athletes, made this a simple decision.”

Prior to CSUP, Hughes quickly rose through the coaching ranks as he was on staff at two of the most prestigious Division II programs in the country –University of Colorado and University of Tennessee.

While at Colorado, Hughes was a defensive graduate assistant from 2003-2006, assisting in coaching various defensive positions, as well as recruiting. At Tennessee, he served as a defensive graduate assistant focusing on linebackers and defensive backs in the fall of 2006 and spring of 2007.

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