Army West Point Athletics
Football
- Title:
- Head Football Strength & Conditioning Coach
Conor Hughes enters his 11th overall season at Army West Point and his eighth as the Head Football Strength and Conditioning Coach in 2026. Hughes originally assumed the head role in the spring of 2019 after serving two years as an assistant strength coach for the Black Knights (2017–18).
During the 2025 offseason, Hughes’ training program facilitated historic physical milestones in the weight room. Offensive lineman Paolo Gennarelli established a new program bench press record by lifting 505 pounds, while defensive lineman Javon Smith shattered the school squat record with a mammoth 635-pound lift. Gennarelli’s remarkable metrics earned him national recognition, securing the No. 99 spot on Bruce Feldman's prestigious annual "Freaks List" of the top 100 most physically impressive players in college football.
This was not the first time a Black Knight garnered such acclaim under Hughes; in 2022, standout outside linebacker Andre Carter II was ranked No. 13 on Feldman's "Freaks List" after transforming into a 6-foot-7, 260-pound defensive weapon. Carter blazed a 4.2 pro agility test under Hughes' watch and routinely finished in the top three during change-of-direction work alongside the team's skill position players before heading to the NFL.
Hughes also played a monumental role in Army’s major offensive schematic transition ahead of the 2023 season, orchestrating significant weight gains across the offensive front. Under his guidance, eight of the top 10 returning offensive linemen packed on 20 pounds or more from the previous year. While the 2022 roster featured just one offensive lineman weighing over 300 pounds, Hughes' regimen increased that total to 11 players over the 300-pound threshold in 2023.
Prior to arriving on the Banks of the Hudson, Hughes spent six seasons at the University at Albany as the Director of Football and Men’s Basketball Strength and Conditioning. While with the Great Danes, he led the physical preparation for the 2011 and 2012 NEC Championship football teams, as well as the 2013, 2014, and 2015 America East Champion men’s basketball programs.
Before his director role at Albany, Hughes served as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Iona College in 2010, overseeing all 21 Division I athletic programs. He also spent time earlier in 2010 as an assistant coach at Albany, working with women’s basketball, women’s soccer, men’s soccer, and the track and field teams.
A four-year football student-athlete at Springfield College, Hughes graduated in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in applied exercise science. He began his professional path as an intern with the football strength and conditioning staff at Georgia Southern before completing a graduate assistantship at Albany (2008–09), where he earned his master’s degree in liberal studies in 2010.
Hughes and his wife, Bridget, reside at West Point, N.Y., with their daughter, Ruby.
