TEXAS A&M MEN’S RUGBY LEADERSHIP
Conor Mills
Head Coach
Raised in Houston, TX, Coach Conor Mills has been involved with rugby in some form or fashion for the last 26 years. He began his playing career with The Woodlands Youth program and then continued playing at St. Thomas until his graduation in 2009. Coach Mills then had the privilege of representing Texas A&M University before completing his studies in 2013. After college, Coach Mills played with various local Houston men’s rugby clubs (H.A.R.C., The Woodlands, Lone Star) before being selected to play for the Houston Sabercats, a professional Major League Rugby team, where he played from 2018 to 2020. A few of Coach Mills’ accomplishments are:
- 2008 & 2009 – Texas High School Player of the Year
- 2006-2009 – USA Junior National Team Player
- 2011-2012 – USA Rugby U-20 Player
- 2011-2013 – TAMU Rugby Captain
- 2012 & 2013 – USA Rugby All-American
- 2018-2020 – 34 starts for the Houston Sabercats
Coach Mills is excited to be back coaching at the university that helped shape him into the person he is today and for the opportunity to continue to build on the rich legacy and tradition already paved at Texas A&M University.
Brett Mills
Grey Side Head Coach/Forwards Coach
Coach Mills has been involved in rugby as a player, coach or administrator for forty years. He served as head coach during his previous stint at TAMU and was the head coach at St. Thomas H.S., University of Houston, University of St. Thomas, and Houston Athletic Rugby Club. In addition, Mills was Texas Director of High Performance Rugby, Director of Rugby for the Houston Rugby Academy, Forwards Coach for Texas Collegiate All-Stars, and Manager and Coach for U.S. National Team U-17s and U-18s. He is married to the amazing Sonya Mills and has three sons, Conor, Riley and Keegan.
Johnny Smith
Director of Rugby Operations/Technical Coach
Coach Smith began playing rugby in 1992 at Sam Houston State University. He spent the next 10 years playing in various places in the world including The Woodlands TX, Missoula MT, and Christchurch New Zealand. He began his coaching career at Sam Houston State University in 1997 where he coached for 1 ½ years. He returned to Sam Houston in 2001 where he led the team to the Division II Final Four in 2002 and to the final 8 in 2003. He started coaching at Texas A&M in 2003 and has held various roles such as Forwards Coach, Recruiting Coordinator and his current role as Director of Rugby Operations and technical coach.
Coach Smith currently works for the Texas A&M Facilities Management, has 2 children, Jack and Cate, and lovely wife Courtney. He has a B.A. in History and M.S.S. in Sports Studies.
travis normand
Assistant Coach
Travis Normand ‘99 is an attorney living and working in College Station, Texas, with his wife (Heather) and two children. He played rugby at Texas A&M while he was a student in the mid-1990s. After graduating from A&M with a BBA in Marketing and a BBA in Management, he attended graduate school at Texas A&M, where he earned an MS in Marketing. He then earned his JD at South Texas College of Law in 2011. Before starting his own solo law practice, he worked for the NFL and the Texas A&M athletics department. Travis credits a lot of his personal development and passion for rugby to his time with the Texas A&M Rugby Club, and he hopes to help others fully realize the importance of playing rugby at Texas A&M.
eric hawkins
Captain, President, and Most Handsome
Eric Hawkins was born in College Station, Texas and was born to be an Aggie. He played American football, among other sports, through middle and high school before discovering rugby at Texas A&M University. Eric was the 2023 Red River Rugby Conference Player of the Year. He also received the Coach’s award and team MVP award in 2023. In the summer of 2023, Eric was invited to play with the National Rugby Club of Greece.
Eric is pursuing a pre-law certificate, majoring in philosophy and minoring in business. Eric plans to attend law school and continue to play rugby as long as his body (and mother) will let him. He speaks Greek and English fluently and makes a mean steak frites.
Cameron Cuilla
Treasurer
Cameron is a finance major and part of the class of 2025 and has been playing rugby since I was a freshman in high school (Westlake). He’s always dreamed of playing out wide at wing but ended up at prop instead.
Jake Foster
Vice President
Jake is a Computer Engineering Major in the class of 2026 and is very dedicated to the club. He has played rugby for 4+ years and has played many positions across the back and forward. Jake is also involved in national leadership positions through BSA and has years of leadership experience outside of rugby.
