UNC Wilmington women’s soccer coach Paul Cairney has been placed on indefinite leave while the university looks into allegations against him, per the Wilmington StarNews. The nature of the allegations is unknown.

The university said in a release Wednesday that it was aware of the allegations against Cairney and that his leave, which took effect on Dec. 8, was not a disciplinary action.

Assistant coach Megan Novak, a UNCW women’s soccer alum, was named the interim head coach in Cairney’s absence. She returned to the team as an assistant coach in 2015.

Cairney — the only coach in the history of the UNCW women’s soccer program over its 22 seasons — went 212-194-27 through the end of the 2017 season. He led the program to two NCAA Tournament appearances (2009, 2015) and was named the CAA’s Coach of the Year three different times.

The Seahawk has reached out to UNCW Athletics for an official comment. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Anyone with information related to the university’s inquiry is asked to call the school at 910-962-2937.

Sports Editor Noah Thomas can be found on Twitter @NoahILM. Any tips or suggestions should be forwarded via email to [email protected]. For video updates from The Seahawk, subscribe to our YouTube channel.