Oakland High School's first football coach, Ray Hughes, passed away Sunday (12/22/2013) at the age of 78. In fact, they named the Patriot's stadium in his honor back on September 6th. Visitation will be from 4:00 to 8:00PM Monday at Woodfin Funeral Chapel, and the funeral will be there at 11:00 o'clock Tuesday morning.

He grew up in Pulaski where he met Mary Frances Colvin. They married in 1956.

After graduating from MTSU and a brief stint in the military, Ray Hughes began his thirty-year career of coaching and teaching in Rutherford County. He began as a seventh grade teacher and coach at Crichlow Elementary School. He moved from there to teaching PE at Mitchell-Neilson Elementary. He then served as principal of Hobgood Elementary.

Coach Hughes began his coaching career as an assistant football coach at Central High School where his team won the state championship title in 1970.

As noted earlier, he was then named the first head football coach of Oakland High School when it opened in 1972.

He moved to MTSU and coached for five years there before he returned to the county school system to teach at Thurman Francis.

Coach Hughes returned to Oakland High School as an assistant coach and his team won another state championship title in 1984.

After his retirement, he continued to support the football program at Oakland as an active member of its booster club. He was inducted into the Patriot Football Hall of Fame as one of its first three inductees. In the fall of 2013, Oakland High School honored his dedication by naming the football stadium after him.

After his retirement from education, he also worked as a real estate agent for Clark Maples and supervised student teachers for MTSU.

He was a long time member of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church. Coach Hughes also enjoyed playing golf and poker with his many friends.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Mary Frances Colvin Hughes; his three daughters, Roseann Barton (Gary), Fran Rawleigh (Alex), and Amy Dewberry (Ross); and five grandchildren, Hughes and Sarah Jane Barton and Sydney, Brooke, and John Ross Dewberry.

Because of his love for the game of football, the family asks that memorials be made to the Oakland High School Football program or any other football program here in Murfreesboro.