John Krikorian joined the Elon men’s basketball staff as an assistant coach in May 2026 following a highly successful 19-year head coaching career at the NCAA Division III level. His first season with the Phoenix is the 2026-27 campaign.
Krikorian arrived at Elon after spending 15 seasons as the head coach at Christopher Newport University, where he established one of the premier Division III programs in the nation. He guided the Captains to a 362-84 record, four NCAA Division III Final Four appearances and the 2023 NCAA Division III National Championship, the first national title in program history. During his tenure, Christopher Newport advanced to 12 NCAA Tournaments, including 10 consecutive appearances to close his time with the program.
Under Krikorian’s leadership, Christopher Newport became the only Division III program in the country to win at least one NCAA Tournament game in each of the last 10 tournaments. His teams consistently competed among the nation’s elite, reaching the national quarterfinals in four consecutive seasons and winning at least 18 games in every season at the helm.
Krikorian was named the National Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches following the Captains’ 30-3 national championship season in 2022-23. Christopher Newport also reached the Final Four in 2016, 2019 and 2026 during his tenure.
Prior to Christopher Newport, Krikorian served four seasons as the head coach at the United States Merchant Marine Academy from 2006-10. He compiled a 65-42 record with the Mariners and led the program to the 2010 Landmark Conference regular-season and tournament championships, along with an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. He earned Landmark Conference Coach of the Year honors following the season.
In all, Krikorian compiled a 427-126 career record across 19 seasons as a collegiate head coach.
Krikorian also brings Division I coaching experience to Elon, having served as an assistant coach at the University of Pennsylvania, Lafayette College and the United States Naval Academy.
A native of Auburn, Massachusetts, Krikorian earned a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1996. He began his coaching career as a student assistant at Penn before moving into collegiate assistant coaching roles at West Virginia Wesleyan, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Penn, Lafayette College and Navy.
Krikorian and his wife, Emily, have three children, daughters Lillian Grace and Katherine Rose, and son Jack.
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The John Krikorian File
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| Birthday |
September 14 |
| Hometown |
Auburn, Massachusetts |
| Education |
Penn, 1996 (Systems Engineering) |
| Spouse |
Emily |
| Children |
Lillian Grace, Katherine Rose, Jack |
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Accomplishments & Honors
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| Championships |
NCAA Division III Championship (2023; Christopher Newport)
4x NCAA Division III Final Four (2016, '19, '23, '26; Christopher Newport)
3x C2C Championship (2022-24; Christopher Newport)
5x CAC Championship (2016-20; Christopher Newport)
2x USA South Championship (2012-13; Christopher Newport) |
| Awards |
NABC Division III Coach of the Year (2023; Christopher Newport)
2x C2C Coach of the Year (2022, '25; Christopher Newport)
5x CAC Coach of the Year (2017-21; Christopher Newport)
Landmark Coach of the Year (2010; Christopher Newport) |
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Coaching Experience
|
| 1998-99 |
West Virginia Wesleyan (Graduate Assistant) |
| 1999-2000 |
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Assistant Coach) |
| 2000-02 |
Pennsylvania (Assistant Coach) |
| 2002-04 |
Lafayette College (Assistant Coach) |
| 2004-06 |
U.S. Naval Academy (Assistant Coach) |
| 2006-10 |
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Head Coach) |
| 2010-26 |
Christopher Newport (Head Coach) |
| 2026-Present |
Elon (Assistant Coach) |
Last Updated: July 1, 2026
