Hugo Cervantes begins his first season as assistant coach for The University of Texas-Pan American men's and women's track and field and cross country programs.
A former standout for the UTPA men's track and field and cross country programs, Cervantes made his return to the Rio Grande Valley after serving as the volunteer assistant coach at Austin Peay State University under former UTPA assistant coach Doug Molnar.
During his time with the Governors, Cervantes assisted in all aspects of maintaining and running a NCAA Division I program, including on-track coaching, budget responsibilities, coordinating travel expenses, developing strength and conditioning programs for both the men's and women's programs as well as meet management.
The UTPA assistant coach served as the Assistant Meet Director and Coordinator during his time at Austin Peay State University where he arranged, planned and organized collegiate and high school competitions while training the entire volunteer staff for the meets. He also handled the Finish Lynx software and accurate timing system while coordinating and managing the track and field competition.
Before joining the Governors' staff, Cervantes served as an assistant coach for the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's and women's cross country programs.
Cervantes spent three seasons as a student-athlete at The University of Texas-Pan American where he earned All-Independent honors during the cross country season on two occasions and competed at the 2003 NCAA Division I South Central Regional Cross Country Championships where he finished 44th overall.
During his career with the Broncs, Cervantes was one of the program's top runners where he was UTPA's top finisher in every race during the 2001 cross country season. He captured the title Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Dual Meet, which was the school that he competed with during his freshman season.
The UTPA assistant coach finished in the top-10 on eight occasions during his cross country career and won a pair of meet titles during his tenure with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi during the 2000 season.
Cervantes earned his bachelor's degree in kinesiology from The University of Texas-Pan American in December of 2006. He resides in Edinburg.