West Texas A&M University Athletics

Hunter Hughes is now in his sixth season at the helm of the Buffs after being announced as the 28th head coach in program history at a press conference on December 13, 2016.

The 2021 campaign saw the Buffs finish 7-4 overall including 5-2 in Lone Star Conference action. WT went 5-2 inside of Buffalo Stadium as well as finishing the season on a three-game win streak with victories over Texas A&M-Kingsville, Midwestern State and Bethel College. The Buffs claimed 16 All-Lone Star Conference honors highlighted by freshman linebacker JT Cavender being named the LSC Linebacker of the Year as well as the LSC Defensive Freshman of the Year. In the classroom, the Buffs registered a GPA of 2.68 with Brandon Blair being named the LSC Academic Player of the Year to go along with CoSIDA Academic Al-American honors.

The challenging 2020 season saw the Buffaloes push the envelope as they implemented strict but effective protocols that allowed WT to play the most games by any Division II institution during the COVID-19 Pandemic, finishing the fall with a 3-3 overall mark.

In his third season in Canyon, Hughes led the Buffs to their most wins since 2013, 8-3, including four wins in the inaugural season at Buffalo Stadium. WT opened the on-campus stadium with a thrilling 35-16 over Azusa Pacific where they scored 28 unanswered points in the second half. 

WT had nine student-athletes earn All-Lone Star Conference honors. Do-it-all tight end Jordan Johnson, defensive end Gerred Johnson, linebacker Eric Collins, linebacker Frank Honang and long snapper Brock Gerlich were all named to the First Team with Tobias Harris, Parker Hanna, Hayden Dennis and Duke Carter IV also receiving all-conference recognition. 

Harris also went on to earn All-American honors from D2Football.com, Associated Press and American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) as one of the top returns in the nation. The sophomore ranked second in all of NCAA football in punt return average while breaking the program record for single season and career punt return yards. 

During his second season in Canyon in 2018, WT finished with their first winning record in three years at 6-5 which included a four-game winning streak and a win over a Top 25 opponent  for the second consecutive season. The Buffs were named Dave Campbell's Team of the Week following their 28-26 victory over No. 14 Central Washington in the Wildcats first-ever night game at Tomlinson Stadium in Ellesnburg, Wash. where Duke Carter IV ran for a career-high 259 yards and a touchdown. 

Under Hughes, Tobias Harris was named the Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Year after ranking in the Top 10 nationally in interceptions per game, combined kick return yards and punt return touchdowns. Carter IV, Eric Collins and Travis Vornkahl all earned 2nd Team All-LSC honors while John Cummings earned D2CCA 2nd Team All-American honors along with being named a Google Cloud Academic All-American. 

In 2017, Hughes and the Buffs won his first game of his WT career with a thrilling 24-21 victory at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium over his former school Colorado State-Pueblo as the ThunderWolves were ranked No. 7 nationally entering the game.  Hughes went 3-8 in his inagural season and had eight players named to the all-conference team, with two being selected to the LSC All-Academic Team and senior Dillon Vaughan earning LSC Academic Player of the Year honors, CoSIDA First Team Academic All-America accolades and the prestigious Fred Jacoby LSC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.  Vaughan also earned the WT President's Award this season.

Prior to his arrival in Canyon, Hughes last ten years as the defensive coordinator at Colorado State University-Pueblo and was the defensive mastermind behind the ThunderWolves’ 13-0 shutout of then-No. 1 Minnesota State in the 2014 NCAA Division II National Championship, which handed CSU-Pueblo its first NCAA national title in school history.  Hughes was hired in 2007 prior to the first season of CSUP football in 2008 to help build the inaugural class.

Since the 2008 season, Hughes has consistently put defenses on the field that not only lead the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, but rank among the top units in the nation.  He was named Football FootballScoop.com Division II Coordinator of the Year finalist in 2014 and guided the ThunderWolves’ defense that lead all of Division II in scoring defense (12.8 points allowed per game), passes intercepted (29), defensive touchdowns (7) and turnovers gained (43).  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-Americas and 67 All-RMAC performers. 

Hughes and the ThunderWolves’ defense continued to dominate in 2015 as he helped guide the team to its third appearance in the NCAA Quarterfinals in the previous four seasons.  CSUP finished top 20 nationally in nine different defensive categories, which included third in scoring defense (15.8 ppg) and passes intercepted (24).  The ThunderWolves also were 10th in rushing defense (94.6 ypg) and 11th in turnovers gained (31).

One of the most decorated Division II coordinators in the nation, Hughes earned FootballScoop.com Division II Coordinator of the Year in 2011 as the ThunderWolves went 11-0 in the regular season.  CSUP allowed a national-best 10.33 points per game and tallied 26 interceptions which also was tops in Division II.

In the first four years Hughes was at CSUP, the ThunderWolves finished in the top 25 nationally in points allowed three times including ninth in 2010.  In 2008, Hughes squad allowed the 37th-fewest points in the nation during the program’s first season of competition. 

Prior to CSUP, Hughes quickly rose through the coaching ranks as he was on staff at two of the most prestigious Division I 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.

Hughes graduated from Middle Tennessee State in 1991 and earned a master’s degree from MTSU in 2001.

Hughes' Season-by-Season Results