The Lugos: A Multi-Generational Family Of Blue Hens

Like any good parent, Ernie Lugo wanted his daughter, Selena Lugo, to make her own decision when it came to choosing a college. But he couldn't help but get excited when she committed to play lacrosse at the University of Delaware, the same school where he ran track and cross country three decades prior.

"It was actually funny, he was the one that saw the email pop up when Delaware was looking to recruit me, and he was immediately ecstatic about it," Selena said. "When we got here and we looked at [the campus], he was like, 'Oh I used to live down there, I used to do that there.' So it was a great experience for him to kind of relive those glory days, and it was also great for me because that was something that we were able to really connect with."

While the Lugos are now a multi-generational family of Blue Hens, their story in the United States had humble beginnings. At the age of three, Ernie flew with his family from Havana, Cuba to LaGuardia airport in New York to start a new life in northern New Jersey. The momentous occasion produced a surreal and even humorous memory.

"It was kind of a weird experience, we came over on Halloween," Ernie said. "I remember, even at that age, walking through the airport, looking at people in their costumes and thinking, what kind of country is this? And then handing out candy, and I'm like 'this is awesome, what a great country!'"

Selena aptly describes her father's path through life as "the American dream." His immigrant parents worked in a factory for minimum wage, saving as much as they could so he could have the opportunity to go to school to follow his dream of becoming a physician.

He went to medical school in Chicago before doing his residency at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. After his son, Caleb, was born, the family moved to the Fort Lauderdale, Florida area where Ernie was an assistant medical director for years and where Selena was born and raised. These days, Ernie still lives in Florida but actually flies to Tyler, Texas to practice emergency medicine.

"It's gratifying for me to really attain my goal, which was to help people," Ernie said. "I still have the passion for medicine, even though I've been doing it for over 35 years. I still get excited to get to work and do my thing. I think my parents appreciated the fact that they came over, literally with nothing. We had no suitcases, we had nothing. And they look back at that time, and the time they invested in me, and I think they're appreciative that I attained my dream."

Ernie grew up running track in northern New Jersey, and knew he wanted to run at Delaware when he saw the great facilities, including the indoor track that used to be in the Delaware Field House. The memories that stand out to him from his four years running cross country and distance events in track are the times shared with teammates and friends.

"From day one, they made me feel like family. I walked on to campus in August of '82 and immediately the captains of the cross country team took me under their wing, showed me around" Ernie said. "We had just an incredible experience and relationship as far as friends go."

That bond with teammates was something Ernie was happy to see Selena experience as she decided to become a member of the Delaware lacrosse family.

"It wasn't until she did a [lacrosse] camp at Delaware where she got to meet some of the players, and got to go around the campus, and just see the interactions with other students that she just fell in love with it," Ernie said. "It was a neat thing to see that 35 years later, that closeness, that homey feeling, even though it's a big school, it can still touch you on a personal basis, and that's special, I think, with Delaware."

While Caleb was the musician of the Lugo siblings, Selena was always the athlete.

"Selena and I, from a very young age, we would be outside playing football almost every day. We would sit around and on Sunday afternoons watch the NFL. I mean, she just loved football," Ernie said.

"So actually dad got me into lacrosse," Selena said. "He saw people playing at our local park, and he was like, 'You should try it. It's kind of the same thing as soccer, you just got to use a stick.' I started playing for our little [recreational] team down in Parkland and immediately I was hooked."

Lacrosse is growing in popularity across the country, but in Florida, the sport is not as established as it is in the Mid-Atlantic region. Twice a week Selena would travel an hour and a half to play with her club team, in addition to playing for Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

"I was really proud of her work ethic and her competitiveness, because she just hates to lose," Ernie said.

Selena just completed a four-year (albeit shortened by the covid-19 pandemic) career as a defender for the Blue Hens, always relishing the opportunity to compete at the Division I level.

"Initially, I was a bit worried. It was scary to want to come play here, not only out-of-state, but a D-I sport. I came from a little town that no one knew in Florida and I was going to be on a team with girls from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland; those are all hotspots for lacrosse. So it was definitely scary at first to think that I would be playing with the big dogs, basically," Selena said. "I definitely grew, especially in communication. I wasn't really a big communicator, but after having a team with almost 40 girls, you learn to express yourself a lot more. But they brought me out of my shell instantly, and I connected with all of them and it was a great experience."

Selena holds significance in her Cuban heritage as well.

"It's obviously incredibly important, and it allows me to connect with other people culturally. I think it's very important to embrace your diversity," Selena said. "I think that that's not something that we should shy away from."

Selena graduated this spring and is currently applying to graduate schools to seek a master's degree in clinical mental health counseling.

"She's an incredible young lady, very proud of her," Ernie said. "I just can't wait for the future for her, because I think she has a very bright future."

For both Lugos, having the shared experience of being Delaware student-athletes is something they value greatly.

"It's incredible because now when we'll be walking somewhere random in Parkland, like go in a grocery store or something, and we'll have a Blue Hen shirt on and someone will come up to us and go 'Do you guys go to Delaware?' Selena said. "And we're like 'Yeah, we both went there, we're alumni now!' They'll say that they knew a cousin that went there or another relative or family friend that went there. I mean, the network is incredible."

University of Delaware Athletics

Players Mentioned

Selena Lugo

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