MIAMI (Feb. 3, 2015) – FIU Football Head Coach Ron Turner announced on Tuesday the addition of Tem Lukabu to his coaching staff. Lukabu will serve as linebackers coach, replacing Rob Harley who joined the Pittsburgh Panthers coaching staff in January.
 
"Coach Lukabu is a tremendous teacher," Turner said. "He's a great communicator. I was with him in Tampa and had a chance to watch him in action. He has a very good work ethic and is a man high character and integrity. He's a great family man and I'm excited to have him join our staff. Tem is a very intelligent, hard-working individual and will bring a lot to the table."
 
Lukabu comes to FIU after spending one season (2014) at Colgate where he coached the outside linebackers.
 
"I'm excited to be a part of the FIU coaching staff," Lukabu said. "I'm very appreciative of the opportunity to work with Coach Turner. He is a very respected coach and has a great track record. I also have a lot of respect for the guys on his staff. It's a very accomplished group with a lot of experience."
 
Before joining the staff at Colgate, Lukabu was a defensive assistant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since Feb. 2012, working with the defensive line coach in 2012 and the linebackers coach in 2013, while assisting with practice and game day coaching responsibilities.
 
Lukabu was hired by Tampa Bay from Fordham, cutting short a two-month offseason stint as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Before that, Lukabu spent the 2011 and 2012 seasons at Rutgers as outside linebackers coach, and the 2008 and 2009 seasons at Rhode Island as linebackers coach. He served as player development coach and graduate assistant at Rutgers in 2006 and 2007.
 
"Tem is a bright, young defensive coach, who was a key part of our staff at Rutgers and at Tampa Bay," former NFL and collegiate Head Coach Greg Schiano said. "He is a great fit for FIU and Head Coach Ron Turner."
 
Lukabu was a four-year letterman at Colgate and three-year starter at linebacker, helping the Raiders to a 31-7 overall record and 18-2 Patriot League mark during that incredible stretch. The team won back-to-back Patriot League titles as Lukabu was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Year in both 2002 and 2003 – becoming the first player to claim that honor twice. He was an All-Patriot League first team selection and All-Atlantic Region first team (Don Hanson Football Gazette) both seasons, and was named All-ECAC first team in 2003.
 
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $8.9 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.