19 Facts About Dave Aranda

David Christopher Aranda was born on September 29,1976 and is an American football coach.

Dave Aranda is the head football coach at Baylor University, a position he has held since 2020.

Dave Aranda previously served as the defensive coordinator at LSU, Wisconsin, Utah State, Hawaii, Delta State, and Cal Lutheran.

Dave Aranda graduated from Cal Lutheran in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in philosophy.

Dave Aranda sought out coaches to talk about the profession, and became enamored with the book Thinking Body, Dancing Mind by sports psychologist Jerry Lynch, who has consulted with numerous championship teams in several sports and whose thinking has influenced coaches such as Phil Jackson and Steve Kerr.

In 2000, Dave Aranda enrolled in graduate school at Texas Tech University and served as a graduate assistant for Texas Tech Red Raiders football from 2000 to 2002 under Mike Leach.

From 2003 to 2004, Dave Aranda was linebackers coach at Houston.

Dave Aranda then returned to Cal Lutheran as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, positions he held for the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

In 2007, Dave Aranda was defensive coordinator and secondary coach for Delta State.

Dave Aranda helped lead the Warriors to victory in nine of their last ten regular season games.

In 2012, Dave Aranda was the defensive coordinator for one year for the Utah State Aggies under Gary Andersen.

When Gary Andersen was hired as the new Wisconsin Badgers head coach, following the 2012 football season, Dave Aranda followed him to Wisconsin.

Dave Aranda was the only assistant coach to remain on the coaching staff after Andersen's departure.

On January 1,2016, it was announced that Dave Aranda was hired to replace Kevin Steele as defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers.

Dave Aranda's contract was guaranteed for three years and was not tied to the contract of LSU head coach Ed Orgeron.

On January 5,2018, it was announced that Dave Aranda received a new four-year contract that will pay him $2.5 million annually and the entire $10 million deal is guaranteed.

On January 16,2020, Dave Aranda was named the head coach at Baylor University, replacing Matt Rhule, who left to become the head coach of the Carolina Panthers.

In 2021, Dave Aranda led the Bears to their best season in school history.

Dave Aranda was a finalist for many other national awards, including the 2021 Eddie Robinson Award, Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award, Associated Press College Football Coach of the Year Award, and Paul "Bear" Bryant Award for National Coach of the Year.