Brian Hughes

The 2018 season will mark the 22nd campaign in which Brian Hughes has served as offensive coordinator at LIU Post.

Hughes has been instrumental in mentoring one of the most potent offenses in recent Division II history, as the Pioneers have led the Northeast-10 in nearly every offensive category over the past three seasons.
 
During the 2017 campaign, Hughes helped mold an offense around first-year quarterback Yianni Gavalas and led the Pioneer offense to 42.6 points per game, 4,996 yards of total offense, 3,114 passing yards, 38 passing touchdowns, and 258 first downs. The Pioneers also led the nation in third down conversion percentage. Under Hughes leadership, offensive lineman Joseph Lacey earned first team All-America status after a tremendous senior season. 
 
The 2015 and 2016 campaigns were also extremely successful as Hughes helped mentor first-year Pioneer Jeff Kidd to an NE10-best 252.2 passing yards per game and 29 touchdowns in his first year. The Green and Gold offense ranked first in the conference in total yards per game (438.9) and was second in total offense (4,828), points per game (31.2), touchdowns (47), first downs per game (25.2) and third-down conversion percentage (42 percent). Kidd continued to grow in 2016, earning All-American honors and NE10 Most Valuable Player accolades after throwing for 3,111 yards and 30 touchdowns.
 
The passing attack has been extremely successful for the Pioneers, as Steven Laurino ranked 10th in the nation during the 2014 season in total passing yards (3,565) and LIU Post ranked 23rd in the nation in passing yards per game (300.2). The Pioneers also ranked 10th in Division II in third-down conversion percentage (48.7%), and collected 326 total first downs, fourth-best in the country.

The Pioneers enjoyed a breakout season in 2010 and were ranked in the top five in nine offensive categories, including three top rankings in first downs, third-down conversion percentage and total offensive plays. They ranked fourth in scoring offense, averaging 33.5 points per game, while also averaging 428.7 yards a game. Quarterback Erik Anderwkavich paced the offense, averaging 239.6 passing yards per game. Much of the passing success fell into the hands of Darnel Williams, who averaged 87.5 receiving yards per game. On the ground, LIU Post carried the ball well with the combination of Thomas Beverly, Anthony Brunetti and Jeff Mack averaging 189.1 yards per game.
 
In 2009, the Pioneers were the top rushing team in the entire Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (214.5 yards per game) and fourth overall in total offense (397/gm.). Anderwkavich was the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year and Beverly earned Freshman of the Year honors from both the ECAC and PSAC. LIU Post finished the last five games of the season outscoring its opponents by an average of over 16 points a game.

In 2005, he directed the Pioneers to Top-10 national rankings in Division II in total offense (fourth – 517.8/gm.), scoring offense (fifth – 42.5 ppg) and rushing offense (ninth – 269.9/gm.), helping LIU Post to its first-ever NCAA Division II Championship quarterfinals appearance. Under Hughes’s tutelage, offensive lineman Steven Broecker and quarterback Rob Blount garnered All-America accolades following the record-setting season in which the Pioneers set school records for points (552), rushing yards (3,509), total offense (6.731) and touchdowns (77).

Hughes, the Pioneers’ offensive line coach, also guided the NE10 Offensive Lineman of the Year in Steven Broecker in 2005, and Taibika Hickson in 2004.

In 2005, Hughes was named the Division II Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association.

In the 1999-02 span, Hughes game-planned his offense around standout running back Ian Smart – one of only four running backs ever to rush for 2,000-plus yards in a season twice, and an athlete who played for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League. The Pioneers’ trip to the NCAA title game during the 2002 campaign was the school’s first appearance since the 1976 season.

Hughes coached LIU Post’s offensive line from 1993-94 before spending four seasons at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point, N.Y.), where he was the Mariners’ linebackers, special teams, and strength and conditioning coach. The Mariners won a pair of ECAC titles during his stay at Merchant Marine.

Hughes, who also serves as Associate Athletic Director for Business Operations at LIU Post, is a 1988 graduate of Hofstra University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Geology. He then received a master’s degree in Earth Science in 1994 from LIU Post, where he has served as an adjunct professor in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department.

Hughes currently resides in Bethpage, N.Y. with his wife, Cynthia, and four daughters.