Hughes has helped lead the Eastern Washington University women's golf program to incredible heights in his 10 years with the program.

Most recently, he was named the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year following an outstanding 2007-08 season. That year, Eastern went 33-5 against league foes and 81-67 overall.

Perhaps most impressively, five Eagles that year were among the top 11 golfers in the league, including Chloe Nelson, Marli Mikulecky, Kristina Gargaro, Kellie Holmstedt and Chelsey Lollar. Nelson, Mikulecky and Gargaro not only were named to the first team, but also recorded the three lowest single-season round averages in EWU history (76.56, 76.63 and 77.07, respectively).

Also, Holmstedt earned second team accolades, while Lollar finished just one spot off of earning that honor, as well.

Incredibly, those five players attained a total of six Big Sky Golfer of the Week awards during the 2007-08 season, setting respective league records in both of those categories.

Another impressive achievement by his players was achieved at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic, played from April 7-8 when the Eagles claimed the team crown, and Gargaro won the individual title. That marked the first time in school history Eastern Washington had won both the individual and team championships at the same event.

Earlier that year, the Eagles won the title at the MDA Invitational, the squad's first championship since securing the Inland Empire Collegiate in September 2003. Gargaro's first-place finish the following spring was the initial one by an Eastern golfer since Kelly Gardner achieved the feat in April 2004 at the Pilot Women's Intercollegiate.

His first four years with the team, Hughes planted the seeds of growth into a program which blossomed into a breakout second-place showing at the 2003 Big Sky Championship.

The Eagles followed that up with another runner-up performance the following year before finishing third in 2005 and fourth in 2006 and in 2007. Last year, his charges stormed back from a 14-stroke deficit on the back nine of the final round of play to close to within three before falling by that margin to Portland State, finishing third.

Incredibly, his golfers hold 47-of-48 spots in the Eagle record book, which includes listings for the top 10 golfers in school history for lowest single-season average, lowest round and lowest tournament score.

He has guided players to a total of 10 All-Big Sky accolades (all within the last six seasons), while Eagles under his tutelage have earned Big Sky Golfer of the Week honors on 19 separate occasions. Thirteen of his players have placed among the top-10 individuals at the Big Sky Championship (also, all within the last six years).

Academically, he has helped 47 players attain Big Sky All-Academic honors.

In addition, Hughes has spent six years as the Special Events Coordinator of the EWU athletics department, serving as the coordinator for fundraising special events. These events include the Orland Killin Dinner-Dance-Auction and the Ron Raver Memorial Golf Classic, both of which help raise money to supplement the University's student-athlete scholarship fund.

Hughes also founded and coordinates The Bulldogs and Eagles Invitational (previously known as the MDA Invitational as well as the Inland Empire Women's Intercollegiate tournament).

In 2007, he was asked to use his speaking and analyzing talents to provide color commentary for the third and fourth rounds of the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, which was played at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Va. Hughes joined Lance Ringler and Asher Wildman as commentators for GolfWeekTV.com's coverage of the event.

Hughes served as Eastern Washington's men's golf coach for the final four years of that program's history before it was discontinued following the 2001-02 campaign.

Prior to his time at Eastern, he spent two years as the assistant men's and women's coach at Washington State University.

He earned a bachelor's degree in education from Central Washington University in 1992. Following his 1990-91 season at CWU, Hughes was named the team's Most Valuable Player and was named to the NAIA District I All-District Team.

Hughes was born Oct. 6, 1967, in Richland, Wash. He and his wife, Tricia, have two daughters. Paige was born May 5, 2002, and Ally was born Sept. 27, 2005. Hughes is a 1986 graduate of Hanford High School in Richland, Wash.