BREAKING NEWS: Drexel's Bates offered lax post, expected to accept

Drexel head coach Chris Bates has been offered the Princeton men's lacrosse head coaching position and is expected to accept it, individuals familiar with the situation told The Daily Princetonian early Sunday afternoon.

The individuals stressed that while the agreement is not yet final, an official announcement is expected sometime this week.

Bates is also expected to bring with him Drexel assistant coach Greg Raymond. Raymond was the second assistant at Princeton for three years before leaving this past season to work under Bates as a top assistant at Drexel.

Bates was offered the position after Cornell assistant head coach Ben DeLuca withdrew his name from consideration, the individuals said.

The search for a new head coach began after Bill Tierney announced June 8 that he was leaving Princeton to become head coach at the University of Denver.

Associate head coach Dan Metzbower was largely seen as a shoo-in to replace Tierney. But Metzbower announced June 16 that he was declining an offer for the position and could also leave the program.

On June 18, several news outlets reported that UAlbany head coach Scott Marr had been contacted twice by Princeton and was scheduled for a phone interview. But the next day, Marr withdrew his name from consideration.

On June 22, InsideLacrosse.com reported there were at least four finalists for the position: Bates, Army coach Joe Alberici, Haverford coach Mike Murphy and LeMoyne coach Dan Sheehan. Alberici announced the next day that he had withdrawn his name from consideration, and IL.com reported on June 24 that Stony Brook coach Ricky Sowell had been a contender but was no longer under consideration.

On June 25, IL broke the news that DeLuca had been interviewed for the position and that Princeton officials were also considering a "Divion I head coach whose mid-major team has made the NCAA Tournament recently."