HICKORY, N.C. – Lenoir-Rhyne Athletics has announced that head football coach Drew Cronic has resigned to become the head football coach at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Cronic, the American Football Coaches Association National Coach of the Year in 2018, has guided the Bears to a 25-3 mark in his two seasons, back-to-back South Atlantic Conference Championships and back-to-back NCAA quarterfinal appearances.

"We hit a home run with the hiring of Drew Cronic as our head football coach," said LR President Fred Whitt. "Mercer University is getting an outstanding football coach, but an even better person.  We will miss Drew, Amelia, Noah, Eli and Isiah and their extended family, and wish them nothing but the best.  Not only will the Cronic name be a huge part of LR football history, they will always be valued members of our LR family."

Cronic inherited a program that went 6-15 in the two years before his arrival and turned it into one of the best teams in the nation. In 2018, he took LR from a three-win team to a 12-2 finish, the largest turnaround in the nation. The Bears finished in the top 10 in Division II in rushing yards per game and points per game in each of his two years, and his .893 winning percentage is the best in program history, topping former head coach Mike Houston's .784 mark. Cronic also earned back-to-back Regional and Conference Coach of the Year accolades.

"I have been blessed to be the head coach at Lenoir-Rhyne the past two years," said Cronic. "These have been two of the best years of my life. I'm so proud of everyone associated with Lenoir-Rhyne Football, especially these young men who have done everything we asked them to do and brought so much joy and excitement to this university. I'm very thankful for the opportunity given to me by Dr. Fred Whitt and Kim Pate. They believed in me and supported me and I'm forever grateful for the opportunity. We left the football program in a better place than we found it and I think they will continue to be great."

During his tenure, Cronic broke the LR record for the longest home winning streak with 15 straight victories inside Moretz Stadium. The old mark of 14 consecutive home victories was set in 1961. Also, Cronic's Bears broke the record for most points scored in a season in 2018 with 574 and then re-broke the record this season with 588 points. The 13 wins in 2019 tied a program-record for the most wins in a season and the 25 wins from the 2018 and 2019 seasons mark the most in a two-year span in team history.

Cronic also improved the national profile of LR football, having the Bears ranked in the top 10 in the AFCA Coaches Poll for the entire 2019 season. Of the 10 all-time NCAA Playoff games hosted by Lenoir-Rhyne, five of them came under Cronic.

The success came off the field as well as Cronic helped the Bears achieve the highest grade point average of any football team in the conference. In his two years, Ronnie Clifton and Will Neal earned the SAC Elite 20 award, given to the student-athlete with the top cumulative grade-point average in each of the league's 20 team championship sports. Additionally, LR had three players named Academic All-Americans under Cronic's leadership.

"Drew Cronic has been instrumental in restoring our football program to national prominence while establishing a culture built around character and a high standard of excellence," said LR VP for Athletics Kim Pate. "He has made a huge impact on our campus, community, and more importantly the players.  He has left the program in great shape, which will position us to attract another outstanding coach and leader to continue to raise the bar."

Coach Bob Bodine, who has served as the offensive coordinator for the past two seasons, has been named interim coach.  A national search to find the 23rd head coach in program history will begin immediately.