(Photo Courtesy of Queens Athletics)

Queens University of Charlotte has parted ways with head men’s lacrosse coach Chris Panos after five seasons at the helm. Panos spent two years as an assistant before taking over as the head coach in the summer of 2018.

The university announced on Monday night that Panos has stepped down from his post.

2023 was the first year for Queens as a DI program. The Royals collected a 2-12 overall record and went 1-8 in ASUN play. Queens’ first DI win came over Hampton in February and its first ASUN win came over Detroit Mercy in early April.

This news is no surprise as Panos was not on the sideline for the final game of the season versus Utah. Nikolas Colpitts served as the head coach for that contest.

In the four years prior to the Royals’ jump to the DI ranks, Panos led them to a 37-16 record. That included leading Queens to the SAC tournament in both 2019 and 2022. The Royals advanced to the conference title game and claimed an at-large berth in the NCAA DII Tournament in 2019.

The worst season for the Royals under Panos came this past spring in the program’s first at the DI level.

Queens is the first DI head coaching job to come open this summer. However, it is the second program that will see a head coaching change this offseason as Matt Brown was announced as Bill Tierney’s successor at Denver on April, 19.