St. Bonaventure has hired Canisius’ Randy Mearns to helm its new varsity men’s lacrosse team, according to multiple media reports. The Bonnies will make their Division I debut in 2019.

Inside Lacrosse first reported the news of Mearns’ hiring Monday, confirmed separately by College Crosse. Both outlets cited unnamed sources.

Mearns, who led the Golden Griffins to two MAAC championships and also was the head coach of the gold medal-winning Canadian men’s national team in 2014, has won 100 games in 19 seasons at Cansius. He has been a part of the Golden Griffins since their 1989 inception, a member of the first recruiting class who holds Canisius’ career assists record (95). He played professionally in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League, forerunner to the current National Lacrosse League, and won championships with the Buffalo Bandits (1993) and Rochester Knighthawks (1997).

In a March interview with US Lacrosse Magazine, following St. Bonaventure’s announcement of the new men’s lacrosse program, athletic director Tim Kenney said he hoped the team would capitalize on its geographical advantages. The school is in western New York, about a 90-minute drive from Buffalo, where Canisius is located, and bears proximity to the Seneca Nation.

“We’re right in the middle of all of this,” Kenney said. “That’s why it makes sense. People were shocked when they asked, ‘How’s your [men’s] lacrosse team?’ and I’d say ‘We don’t have one.’”

They do now. And they also have a coach who has spent nearly 30 years as a fixture in the local lacrosse community.