Claudio Arias

Claudio Arias enters his fifth season as head coach at Texas A&M International University in 2008. He has done a commendable job in guiding the program to a smooth transition from the NAIA to the highly-competitive NCAA Division II Heartland Conference. Arias stands with an impressive 38-29-4 overall record as head coach of the Dustdevils.

Last season the Dustdevils went 7-8-2 overall, finishing fifth in their first season in the Heartland Conference with a 3-5-2 league mark. TAMIU finished strong to get near the break even mark, closing the season with back-to-back home wins over conference stalwarts St. Mary's and Incarnate Word.

The win over Incarnate Word was significant for two reasons. It not only closed out a 1-0-1 season mark against the regionally-ranked Cardinals but also marked TAMIU's first win over UIW in six tries.

Arias led TAMIU to a respectable 7-8 record in the program's first year as a NCAA Division II provisional member in 2006. The Dustdevils finished with a 5-5 mark against Heartland opponents.

Despite being plagued with numerous injuries in 2005, Arias led TAMIU to its fourth straight winning season. The Dustdevils recorded a 10-8-1 record, finishing as one of the top offensive teams in the nation. TAMIU finished fifth in the final NAIA team statistical rankings in goals scored per game (3.84) while also placing ninth in total goals (73).

Arias led the Dustdevils to a 14-5-1 record in his first season with the program in 2004. Highlights of that inaugural season included a second straight conference tournament title and a second straight trip to the NAIA Region VI Tournament, where the Dustdevils advanced to the championship game against Southern Nazarene.

A total of 15 players have earned all-conference honors under Arias' tutelage. Daniel Hermosillo was a two-time Red River Athletic Conference first-team pick and one-time NAIA All-American with Arias guiding the program.

Last season, four players earned All-Heartland Conference honors. Gregory Mulamba earned first-team all-conference honors and Soamy Batista, Adeyemi Gill and Raul Quinoñes were named to the second-team. Mulamba was a repeat member of the all-conference team, having earned second-team honors in 2006.

Prior to arriving at TAMIU, Arias served four seasons as head coach at Southern Wesleyan University (SWU) in South Carolina. He led SWU to the 2003 Georgia-Alabama-Carolinas Conference title, with a 2-1 overtime win over nationally-ranked (#2) Auburn-Montgomery in the semifinals.

Arias played collegiate soccer for Bryan College in Tennessee where he earned a bachelor's degree in psychology. He also holds a master's in health and exercise science from Furman University.

Arias played professionally for the Shreveport-Bossier Lions of the USISL and the Greenville Lions of the PDL as well as for Deportes Concepción in Chile. He holds a Premier National Diploma with the NSCAA and a "A" license with the USSF.

Arias and his wife Nicole are the proud parents of three daughters; Rebecca Nicole (eight years old), Andrea Belan (five) and Sarah Elizabeth (born Sept., 2005).