GENEVA, N.Y. - Hobart College Director of Athletics Mike Hanna announced this morning that he has requested and received the resignation of Head Lacrosse Coach B.J. O'Hara. O'Hara has served as head coach of the Statesmen for the past 12 seasons.

Just the sixth head coach of Hobart's lacrosse program since 1927, O'Hara oversaw the Statesmen's transition from Division III powerhouse through its elevation to Division I status in 1995. During his tenure, he guided Hobart to a 90-63 overall record (.606), including a 43-46 mark at the Division I level.

O'Hara led the Statesmen to the NCAA Division III National Championship in each of his first two seasons, extending Hobart's streak to 12 consecutive titles. After falling in the 1992 semifinals, he returned the Statesmen to the pinnacle of Division III a year later. In the team's first season of Division I play, he guided Hobart to a 7-6 mark, but suffered back-to-back losing seasons in 1996 (5-7) and 1997 (5-7) for the first time since 1958-59. The team rebounded in 1998 to capture its first Division I tournament bid. After another losing season in 1999, the Statesmen joined the Patriot League. Hobart captured the league championship in its inaugural season and the accompanying automatic bid. O'Hara was selected the 2000 Patriot League Coach of the Year. This past season the Statesmen finished 5-7, suffering losses in six of the team's last seven games.

A 1975 graduate of Hobart, O'Hara was a two-time All-American lacrosse player. He currently ranks fourth in career points (280), second in career goals (163), and fourth in career assists (117).

In 1995, O'Hara was inducted into the Upstate New York Lacrosse Foundation Hall of Fame. In 1998, he was inducted into the Hobart Hall of Fame. He's a past president of the USILA, and sits on the USILA Rules Advisory Committee, and All-American Selection Committee.

O'Hara holds a master's degree in educational psychology and counseling from Slippery Rock (Pa.) University. He began his coaching career at West Genesee High School in Camillus, N.Y., where he enjoyed a distinguished lacrosse and soccer career. He served as an assistant coach at North Carolina State University in 1978-79 before becoming head coach at Alfred University. After a season as an assistant coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, O'Hara returned to Hobart as assistant lacrosse and soccer coach.

The Hobart Department of Athletics will begin the search for a new head coach shortly. Hobart and William Smith Colleges are two private, coordinate institutions of higher learning in the liberal arts located along the western shore of Seneca Lake in Geneva, N.Y. Hobart College was founded in 1822 and currently enrolls 868 men. William Smith College for women was founded in 1908 and currently enrolls 982 women. The coordinate system allows the two colleges to share faculty and facilities and provide coeducational classes. However, each college awards its own degrees, has its own dean and admissions office, and maintains its own student government and athletics programs.