Hall of Fame
Bill Hughes was a three-year letterwinner at EKU at quarterback, highlighted by leading the Colonels to their first I-AA national championship in 1979.
As a sophomore, Hughes, a member of the Lancaster Ohio Athletics Hall of Fame, was instrumental in directing Eastern to a huge comeback 38-34 victory at East Tennessee as he provided back up that season for All-OVC quarterback and EKU Athletics Hall of Famer Ernie House. As a junior in 1978, he took over as starting quarterback in the spring and was chosen OVC Player of the Week twice in leading Eastern to an 8-2 record. That season, Eastern led the league in total offense and points scored as Hughes tied an OVC single game record for accuracy when he hit 12-15 passes against Dayton. While serving as offensive co-captain that year, he finished fifth in the league in total offense and fifth in passing offense.
His senior year in 1979 was his most memorable season as he led EKU to an 11-2 overall record in securing the University's first national football title. Again serving as offensive co-captain, he threw for 1,000 yards and seven TD's, while rushing for 264 yards and four more scores. One of his top games his senior year was in the 8-6 win over arch-rival Western Kentucky at Roy Kidd Stadium before a record crowd of 25,300. Hughes was a part of all eight Eastern points that afternoon when he scored a rushing TD himself and hit tight end Cris Curtis for the game-winning two-point conversion. Other notable games in '79 were a 226-yard, three-TD passes day in a 35-10 victory over Austin Peay and a 154-yard passing, 50-yard rushing game in a 30-7 win over Morehead State. For his efforts, Hughes was chosen second-team All-OVC and the Colonels' co-MVP on offense. He was selected as Real Estate Student of the Year and Insurance Student of the Year at EKU for 1979-80.
Since graduation in 1980, he has had a 25-plus year career with Arc International, the World's Largest Producer of tabletop glassware. He has been the all-time sales leader for that company and was chosen Sales Person of the Year on numerous occasions. He recently celebrated his 26th year anniversary with his wife Cheryl and their son, Alex, recently completed a successful three-year EKU baseball career and graduated from EKU in 2013.
