(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Feb. 7, 2022) Anthony Lugo has been named head coach of the California Lutheran University football team after being in the interim role this past season. He is just the fifth head coach in the program’s storied history.
“I feel very honored and privileged to be named the head coach at Cal Lutheran,” Lugo said. “Kingsmen football is based on tradition and values, and we will keep promoting that to our student-athletes. My staff and I are very excited for this opportunity.”
Lugo has been a member of the coaching staff since 2008 and will enter his 15th season at Cal Lutheran in the fall of 2022. He previously has served as the secondary coach, linebackers coach, special teams coordinator and offensive coordinator.
“We are excited to have Coach Lugo lead the Kingsmen,” said Director of Athletics Holly Roepke. “He is a student-athlete-centered coach with a deep sense of care, compassion and competitive fire who is committed to serving the department, campus and greater community. Coach Lugo leads by example and embodies the characteristics we hold of a Kingsmen.”
Support for Lugo extends to members of the university’s accomplished alumni coaching tree.
“In the time I have gotten to know Anthony, I have come to know a man of great integrity and passion,” said alumnus Dave Aranda, head coach at Baylor University. “He has consistently coached and taught his players with great care for them as individuals above anything else. He has a great knowledge of the game and a tremendous work ethic and, as a Cal Lutheran alum, I could not be more proud of the direction the program is taking.”
In Lugo’s interim year, the Kingsmen started 5-0, the program’s best start since 2006. The team also received votes in the American Football Coaches Association Top-25 poll, the first time it was mentioned in the poll since 2013.
Lugo has been instrumental in the Kingsmen’s success during the last 15 years. He helped coach the Purple and Gold to four straight SCIAC championship seasons (2009-12), and the team went an unprecedented 25-0 in conference play.
Originally from Los Angeles, Lugo earned a bachelor’s degree from Iona College in New Rochelle, New York, where he was a wide receiver. He majored in criminal justice. Lugo now resides in Glendora, California.