Southern Virginia is turning to one of its own to lead the Knights into their next chapter. After a nationwide search, Southern Virginia University has announced the hiring of Luke Christiansen as the next head coach of its men’s lacrosse program. Christiansen returns to Buena Vista after spending the last eight years building William Penn into a national contender, and he brings with him an extensive track record of building programs, winning championships, and developing players. Now, he’ll get the opportunity to do it at his alma mater.

Christiansen arrives at Southern Virginia after overseeing essentially the entire history of William Penn men’s lacrosse. He took over the program ahead of its inaugural 2019 season and steadily transformed the Statesmen into one of the top programs in the NAIA. Over eight seasons, Christiansen compiled 76 victories, became the winningest coach in the history of both the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference and Heart of America Athletic Conference, and led William Penn to four consecutive conference championships. The program’s rise culminated in 2026, when William Penn advanced to the national semifinals.

During Christiansen’s tenure, William Penn players earned 22 All-American selections and 43 all-conference honors. His players also collected seven conference Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year awards, along with a Conference Newcomer of the Year and two Conference Freshman of the Year honors. Southern Virginia isn’t handing its program to a first-time head coach hoping he can build something. They’re bringing home someone who has already done it.

The Southern Virginia connection makes the hire even more interesting. Christiansen attended SVU from 2005-08, competing as a student-athlete in both lacrosse and football while earning undergraduate degrees in Creative Writing and Spanish. His path since leaving Buena Vista has been anything but conventional. Christiansen later earned a master’s degree in Photography and most recently completed a Master of Fine Arts in Image Text from Cornell University.

On the lacrosse side, his coaching career has taken him from East Carolina’s club program and Camden Military Academy all the way to international competition. Christiansen served as head coach of the Spanish National Team from 2014-16, becoming the winningest coach in the country’s history. Spain produced its best international finish at the 2016 European Championships under Christiansen while statistically producing the best defense in program history.

Now, nearly two decades after playing for Southern Virginia himself, Christiansen is returning with an opportunity to lead the program he once represented. “Ever since I was a student-athlete here, I’ve had a very lofty vision for the program,” Christiansen said in the university’s announcement. “Now it’s time to put that to the test.”

Christiansen isn’t walking into a program without a foundation. Since joining the USA South in 2021, Southern Virginia has captured a conference tournament championship and two regular-season titles. The Knights have already demonstrated that they can compete at the top of the conference.

The challenge now is taking another step. Christiansen’s experience at William Penn makes that possibility particularly interesting. He has already taken a program from its infancy to the national stage, developing a recruiting pipeline, building a championship culture and producing high-level individual talent along the way. Southern Virginia Athletic Director Josh Monsen pointed directly to that experience when announcing the hire. “Coach Christiansen’s success building programs gives him the right foundation to recruit, retain, lead, and win, all while staying aligned with our Christ-centered mission,” Monsen said.

For Southern Virginia, the fit appears to extend beyond wins and losses. Christiansen knows the university. He played there. He understands its mission. And perhaps most importantly from a lacrosse standpoint, he already knows what it takes to build a program capable of competing nationally.

The USA South has become increasingly interesting in recent seasons, and Southern Virginia has already shown it can contend for championships within the league. Now the Knights are bringing in a coach who spent the better part of the last decade turning William Penn into a perennial national contender. The question will be how quickly Christiansen can translate that success to the DeeThreelax.

Southern Virginia is bringing back an alum with 76 career wins, four straight conference championships, a national semifinal appearance and a history of building winning programs. Christiansen said he’s had a lofty vision for Southern Virginia lacrosse since his playing days. Nearly 20 years later, he’s finally getting the opportunity to see how far that vision can go.