Aquinas College Men's Rugby

Lance Hohaia joined the Aquinas Athletic Department in the winter of 2021 and serves as the head coach of the AQ men's rugby program. Hohaia was hired as the inaugural head coach of the program.  After an inaugural spring season in 2022 where the Saints finished with a 4-5 record, AQ completed a full 2022-23 campaign with a 11-12 record and competed in the program's first Collegiate 7s National Championship tournament in Washington, D.C. The Saints went 2-2 on the national stage with wins over Iona and Michigan. The Saints continued to improve in the 2023-24 season. Aquinas went 10-9 overall and finished in fifth-place in the first Big Rivers Conference Tournament with wins over Rio Grande and Iowa Central CC. AQ then qualified for the Collegiate 7s National Championship tournament once again and made it all the way to the championship game in the Premier Bowl. Prior to coming to Aquinas, Hohaia had a two-year coaching stint at nearby Davenport. He led the 2018-19 Panthers to an 18-8 record in his first season, which was an eight-win improvement from the previous year. That season, Davenport was ranked as high as eighth in the country. The 2019 7's team qualified for the 7's National Championships and had a strong showing at the national tournament, capturing the bronze medal.  Hohaia played for the New Zealand national team from 2002 to 2011 and helped the team win the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. He also helped New Zealand win the 2005 Tri Nations championship and capture the 2010 Four Nations championship. Nicknamed "The Huntly Hurricane" by the media after growing up in the town of Huntly, he played in over 300 matches in his 15-year professional career. Hohaia competed for 11 seasons with the New Zealand Warriors and is one of only six players in club history to spend 10 consecutive seasons with the Warriors. He closed his professional career by playing four years for St. Helens RFC in the United Kingdom and helped the team win the 2014 Super League championship. Hohaia has an Associate in Applied Management from the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, a Bachelor's of Business also from the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, and is working on his Master.s of Management program at Massey University in New Zealand, to be completed in November 2026. When he is not coaching rugby at Aquinas, Lance enjoys playing golf, mountain biking, traveling (exploring new places and cultures), dining out and trying new foods as a foodie, hiking, going on adventures with his two boys, watching rugby, and working out.

Dr. Scott Brown came to Aquinas College in 2020 to oversee the Applied Sport and Exercise Science degrees before officially joining the Aquinas Athletic Department in 2021 as an assistant and strength and conditioning coach for the men's rugby program. Dr. Brown took over the responsibility as the department's Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) in the summer of 2024.  Dr. Brown is a native Californian who began his educational journey at Santa Barbara Community College and participated in the football program. After obtaining an Associate of Art degree in 2007, he transferred to San Diego State University where he joined the rugby team and worked towards a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science. Following the completion of his degree in 2010, Dr. Brown moved to Muncie, IN to pursue a Master of Science in Biomechanics at Ball State University. His thesis titled, “The relationship between leg dominance and knee mechanics during the cutting maneuver” was completed in 2012. Shortly after graduation, Dr. Brown moved to Auckland, New Zealand to begin a Doctor of Philosophy in Sports Biomechanics at Auckland University of Technology. He completed his dissertation in 2016 titled, “Does lower-extremity symmetry matter for anterior cruciate ligament injury risk in male rugby union athletes?”. He later completed an NIH funded Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor titled, “Functional resistance training during gait: A novel intervention to improve knee function after ACL reconstruction”. Dr. Brown joined the Aquinas faculty with over a decade of experience as a strength and conditioner, head coach, educator, and sports scientist in the realm of injury prevention and sports performance. Dr. Brown also stays active in research with over 40 published journal articles focusing on enhancing sports performance and is a collaborator on two educational books (Biomechanics of Training and Testing: Innovative Concepts and Simple Field Methods, 2016 and Laboratory Experiences in Exercise Physiology, 2020). Dr. Brown holds many active rolls at Aquinas College including: Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and oversees the Applied Sport and Exercise Science degree, Faculty Advisor for the Human Science Honor Society, Kappa Omicron Nu, Faculty Representative for Student Life & Athletics Committee, Faculty Advisor for the Outdoor Rec and Disc Golf Clubs, and Assistant / Strength & Conditioning Coach for Men's Rugby. In his spare time, Dr. Brown spends time with his family and is an avid cyclist and outdoor enthusiast.