MONTEVALLO (4/1) -- Patricia Hughes, head women’s soccer coach
at the University of Montevallo, has been named assistant athletic director
at UM.
In addition to her coaching duties, she will assist the director of athletics in all facets of administration and governance of the intercollegiate athletics program with an emphasis on internal relations. Hughes also will coordinate UM’s on-campus support services, including the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and Champs Life Skills programs.
“Trish has had a tremendous impact on the experience of our student-athletes and has been a strong advocate for our program both on campus and in the community,” said athletic director Jim Herlihy. “Her diverse background as a coach and administrator will give her a unique insight into the job and let her hit the ground running.”
Named Montevallo’s senior women’s administrator in 2004, Hughes served as interim director of athletics for a number of months this past year.
Hughes, who completed her seventh year as head coach of the Lady Falcons in 2007, was named Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year and South Region Coach of the Year this past season. Her team was the ’07 GSC champion and a participant in the program’s first-ever appearance in an NCAA Division II national tournament, advancing to the South Region Championship match against eventual national champion University of Tampa. In 2007, Montevallo posted a school record with 15 victories. The team ended the season with a 15-8 worksheet.
The Dublin, Ireland, native is the second coach in the 12-year history of the team. Hughes, who took over the program in the fall of 2001, was a member of the coaching staff on the first UM women’s soccer team in 1995. She was formerly head coach at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., for the 1999 season before returning to UM as an assistant coach in the fall of 2000. Hughes also was an assistant and interim head coach at Auburn University from 1997-1999.
A graduate of Coker College in 1993, Hughes was a two-time NAIA All-American, an NSCAA/adidas All-American and was named to the All-District team four times. She is the all-time scoring leader, male or female, in Coker College soccer history. In the spring of 2001, Hughes became the first women’s soccer player to be inducted into the Coker College Athletic Hall of Fame.
Hughes also played internationally, making 20 appearances from 1985-90. She also played with the Alabama Angels, a women’s semi-professional league from 1995-98. Locally, Hughes served as an Alabama State Coach for the Olympic Development Program (ODP) from 1995-99.
She received her master’s degree in education from Montevallo in the spring of 2001.
In addition to her UM administrative assignments, Hughes is currently administrative liaison for the GSC, a member of the NCAA Division II National Soccer Committee and chair of the NCAA South Region Soccer Committee.
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