Bio

Arron Lujan has led the Carnegie Mellon men's soccer team to four NCAA tournaments in six years and has compiled a record of 74-25-8, advancing to at least the second round of NCAA postseason play in all four trips to the tournament. He has led the Tartans to two University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships and has been named UAA Coach of the Year twice.

The 2013 Tartans hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Championship for the second year in a row, winning their first game 3-1 over Virginia Wesleyan College. The team was ranked as high as 12 for the season and finished the year ranked 18th in the nation by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). Four players earned All-Great Lakes Region and ECAC All-Star honors with seven garnering recognition from the University Athletic Association coaches.

Academically, the Tartans were superior in the classroom as seniors Matt Sarett and Ben Bryant made repeat appearances on the CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-America team with senior Christopher Madden earning the award for the first time. In total, the Tartans have received 16 Academic All-America honors in the past six years.

In 2012, Lujan led the Tartans to a year-end national ranking of 18 after reaching the No. 4 spot during the season. The program hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Championship for the second time and were champions of the UAA for the second time in four years. Four players were named to the All-Great Lakes Region team as five earned All-UAA honors with Lujan and his staff named UAA Coaching Staff of the Year.

In 2009, the team hosted NCAA postseason games for the first time in program history while advancing to the round of 16 for the first time. In the most successful season in school history, Lujan guided the Tartans to a 5-1-1 UAA mark and a three-way tie for first place while earning UAA Coaching Staff of the Year honors. Along the way, five team records were set including most wins, shutouts, goals scored and points.

Under Lujan's tutelage, Ricky Griffin was named UAA Player of the Year for the second consecutive season in 2009, while also achieving All-America status for the second time. Overall, Lujan has coached three All-Americans.

The success of 2009 didn’t stop on the field as five players were named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans for the second year. Jon Hall received the honor of ESPN The Magazine Men’s Soccer Academic All-America of the Year for the second time. In 2010, academic honors continued for the Tartans as three were named to the CoSIDA All-District team. With 2011 being no exception, Nick Gianopoulos was named a CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-American while Ian Epperson joined him on the All-District team.

Lujan became the ninth head coach in Carnegie Mellon University men's soccer history in April of 2008 after serving three years as an assistant coach for the men’s program at Princeton University. Throughout his three-year tenure at Princeton, the Tigers had thirteen players honored as All-Ivy members with four players named All-Region. Lujan was responsible for assisting in recruiting, game management, training sessions, planning alumni events, fundraising, team travel arrangements, and contributing to the direction of the program.

Prior to his stint at Princeton he served as an assistant coach for Division III Virginia Wesleyan for two years and helped lead the Marlins to a second-round appearance in the NCAA tournament in 2003. In 2002, Lujan served as a Virginia ODP District Coach and was responsible for recognizing and developing players. Lujan was also the head coach of the Beach FC Hurricanes Under-17 Boys Premier team in 2004.

A native of Las Cruces, New Mexico, Lujan is a 1995 graduate of Colorado College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in drama. He received a Master of Science degree in recreation, parks and sport leadership in 2007 from Virginia Commonwealth University. As a player for Colorado College, Lujan finished his career as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 200 points (69 goals, 62 assists) and was inducted into the Colorado College Athletics Hall of Fame in May 2009. He was first-team All-America in 1994, and received the college’s Van Diest Award for achievement in citizenship, leadership, and athletics.

As an undergraduate, Lujan won back-to-back amateur national championships in 1994 and 1995 with the Denver Kickers. Following his undergraduate work he played seven years of professional soccer with the Colorado Foxes, Hampton Roads Mariners, Boston Bulldogs, and El Paso Patriots.

Lujan holds his USSF “A” Coaching License and Premier Diploma from the NSCAA. He is the co-chair of the Native American Soccer Coaches Committee and an enrolled member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma. He and his wife Heather live in Pittsburgh with their daughters Linley and Paige.