Ryan Abelman, Joey Lujan Earn Top-Scholar Honors at 47th Annual Golden Eagle Awards

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (May 1, 2025) – Student-athletes, head coaches, and staff gathered on Tuesday evening to celebrate the Northern Arizona Athletic Department's academic success. The 47^th annual Golden Eagle Awards, presented by Ginny L. Clements, were highlighted by men's basketball's Ryan Abelman and soccer's Joey Lujan, as they earned the evening's top honors at the department's top scholar-athletes. A total of 243 student-athletes across all 15 sports were honored.
 
The Golden Eagle Awards were first presented in the spring of 1979 as a way of honoring student-athletes who maintained high levels of scholastic achievement while performing with distinction in the university's athletic programs. At the event, it was announced that the awards will change its name next year to the William M. "Bill" Clements Academic Awards presented by Ginny L. Clements.
 
A full list of the 2025 Golden Eagle Scholars can be found here.
 
All Lumberjacks holding a minimum of a 3.00 cumulative grade point average or better are eligible for the award, presented to student-athletes who have made significant contributions in athletics as well as in the classroom.
 
Abelman hails from Las Vegas, Nev., and is majoring in biomedical sciences. He just completed his third year on the men's basketball team and is currently serving on the Division-I Men's Basketball Student-Athlete Engagement Group, as the only Big Sky Conference representative. Abelman will serve on the committee through June 30, 2025. The committee was established in 2023 with the goal of amplifying student-athlete voices in basketball on key initiatives, legislation, and issues. He is a three-time Golden Eagle Scholar and a two-time Big Sky All-Academic team member.
 
Athletically, he averaged 4.9 points per game while shooting 42.2 percent from the field, starting 17 of the 33 games he played in.
 
Lujan is a native of Gilbert, Ariz., and will graduate next week with her Bachelor's degree in health sciences, public health after two seasons on the women's soccer team. She was a two-time Golden Eagle Scholar and a two-time member of the All-Big Sky Academic Team.
 
On the field, she started in 36 of her 37 career games at Northern Arizona, coming in as a junior transfer from Kansas State. Lujan tabbed two goals in her junior season, including a Big Sky Championship match goal to earn All-Tournament team honors. As a senior, Lujan added three more goals and an assist to her stat line, earning the final Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week honors in the 2024 campaign. Lujan closed out her NAU career garnering All-Conference Second Team honors.