Two years ago, John Paul sat down for an important conversation with his wife.

For more than a decade, he had coached Michigan’s club lacrosse program, nurturing it into one of the best in the country.

There was only one step left to take, and he just wasn’t sure Michigan was ever going to get there. So, would they stay in Ann Arbor?

For years, Paul heard chatter about Michigan looking to promote his program from the club level to Division I. Those years passed.

So when Dave Brandon took over as Michigan’s athletic director in March of 2010, Paul had already made the mental decision that if progress wasn’t made, he was going to leave after the 2011 season.

Now, that doesn’t have to happen. Paul was named the new Michigan lacrosse program’s first Division I head coach Friday.

“I'm thrilled to have this opportunity to lead Michigan into Division I lacrosse,” Paul said in a statement. “I want to thank Dave Brandon for believing in me, but most importantly for his commitment to this great sport. I can't wait to get started.”

Paul has coached the Michigan club team for 14 years with a 122-44 record, including national titles in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

This year, the Wolverines lost to Arizona State in the national semifinals, 7-6.

“John Paul has been an integral part of our lacrosse program over the years,” Brandon said. “He has built the club program to a championship level and will help us make the transition to varsity status. We look forward to his leadership and guidance of our program.”

A week-and-a-half and one conversation after Brandon took the job, Paul felt more comfortable. Last Wednesday, it came to fruition when Brandon announced both men's and women's lacrosse will be elevated to varsity status at Michigan.

“This has probably been a labor of love for him. He has some strong connections and ties to Michigan from his family. He loves Michigan and the fact that he spent so many years building that club program and then there was this little twinkle that maybe one day we’ll go Division I,” Johns Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala said. “The fact that he’s kind of seen it through to this point, it has kind of been this labor of love for him.

“It’s gotta be an unbelievable, unbelievably satisfying feeling to know that you made that step, an that’s just an unbelievable step to go from club lacrosse to Division I lacrosse and that you were a major part of that. I’m thrilled.”

Paul was.

He spoke of going to last weekend’s NCAA Final Four as a peer instead of a fan. He already put together a recruiting plan and knows what it will take to make the jump from a national championship club program to one competing with the best programs in the country.

“Certainly I’ve had people inquire in the past about if I’d be interested in leaving, but I love this place and I didn’t want to,” Paul said. “Really, with the club program, I felt I had one of the best jobs in the country already.

"But eventually we felt it was such a chore to fundraise, to run the club team at the level that we were every year, that we had kind of accomplished everything that we wanted to accomplish in club lacrosse competitively.

“It felt like time to make a decision.”

Turns out, he didn’t have to. Michigan made it for him and now he has the job he always wanted. Head coach: Michigan Division I lacrosse.

Michael Rothstein covers Michigan sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by email at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein .