Alabama deputy athletic director Shane Lyons has accepted an offer to become West Virginia's athletic director.

"It is truly a dream come true for me to return to my home state," Lyons said in a statement. "I have followed the Mountaineers closely ever since I left Morgantown after graduate school."

West Virginia president Gordon Gee announced the appointment Monday.

"We are delighted to welcome Shane Lyons back to his home state of West Virginia and to his alma mater," Gee said in a statement.

"He brings a wealth of experience in both university and conference athletics administration. In addition, as a graduate of West Virginia University, Shane understands what it means to be a Mountaineer."

Lyons replaces former AD Oliver Luck, who left WVU on Dec. 17 to become executive vice president of regulatory affairs with the NCAA.

Lyons has been deputy athletic director at Alabama since 2011. Before that he was an Atlantic Coast Conference associate commissioner from 2001 to 2011.

Sources said Lyons met with West Virginia officials, including Gee and James Dailey, chairman of WVU's board of governors, Saturday in Morgantown, West Virginia, and school officials the week before in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

Lyons, a native of Parkersburg, graduated from West Virginia in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in Sport Management and also earned a master's degree in Sport Management from WVU in 1988.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.