University of Connecticut Athletics
Hughes Honored By Gridiron Club Of Greater Boston
12/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 9, 2009
BOSTON, Mass. - University of Connecticut assistant head football coach for defense Hank Hughes has been named the "Assistant Coach of the Year" in the Bowl/Championship Divisions by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston.
Hughes will be honored at the group's annual dinner on Thursday, January 14 at Burlington Marriott Hotel.
Hughes is finishing his ninth season on the Husky coaching staff and his fifth as assistant head coach for defense after spending the previous three as the defensive coordinator. A 31-year veteran of the coaching profession, Hughes joined the program in Feb. 2001 as the defensive line coach and has coached that position group throughout his tenure at UConn.
The UConn defense finished the 2008 season ranked sixth in the country and first in the BIG EAST Conference in total defense at 278.00 yards per game and was also ninth in passing efficiency defense (first in BIG EAST), 16th in rushing defense (second in BIG EAST) and 22nd in scoring defense (third in BIG EAST).
Under Hughes, UConn led the BIG EAST in total defense in each of its first two seasons in the league - 2004 and 2005. The Huskies finished seventh in the nation in 2006, averaging 297.1 yards per game in total defense while also ranking fourth in passing defense and seventh in passing efficiency defense.
Before coming to UConn, Hughes was the defensive line coach at the University of Memphis from 1998-2000.
Hughes is familiar with New England, having served at four different schools in the region. In his most recent New England stop prior to UConn, Hughes worked at Harvard (1994-97) where he was the assistant head coach, defensive line coach and special teams coordinator. He was defensive line coach at Cincinnati in 1993 and was an assistant coach for the Montreal Machine of the World League of American Football in 1991 and 1992, serving as linebacker coach in 1991 and adding defensive coordinator duties in 1992. Hughes was the linebacker coach and recruiting coordinator at James Madison from 1985-90, served as linebackers and defensive line coach at Lafayette from 1982-84 and also coached the defensive line at Northeastern (1981), Springfield College (1980) and Albany (1979).
Hughes is a 1979 graduate of Springfield College with a bachelor's degree in physical education. He played for four years at linebacker and was a two-year starter. A native of Albany, N.Y., Hank and his wife, Jackie, reside in Tolland, Conn., with their four children, Raquel Marie, Henry, Jack and Charles.
Tickets to the dinner are priced at $50 each or $500 for a table of ten. They may be ordered through members of the Gridiron Club, by calling club secretary Dick Lawrence at (781) 231-0372, or by emailing info@gridclubofgreaterboston.com. Social hour begins at 6:00 p.m., followed by dinner at 7:00.
Founded in 1932, the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston (www.gridclubofgreaterboston.com) promotes the game of football at all levels and nurtures the ideals of citizenship, sportsmanship, leadership, and athletic and academic achievement.
