(STATS) - Mercer University announced the firing football coach Bobby Lamb on Sunday, one day after the end of his seventh season since restoring the program following a 72-year hiatus from the sport.

The Bears were 41-39 under the 56-year-old Lamb, although their 4-8 record this year, including a 56-7 loss at North Carolina on Saturday, was the low mark. They finished in seventh place in the Southern Conference with a 3-5 mark.

"We have all worked side-by-side to start and grow the Mercer football program from a dream to an actual reality. Bobby Lamb shouldered the majority of that burden and workload in that process," athletic director Jim Cole said in a university statement. "We can never thank him enough."

Mercer returned to football in 2013 in the FCS non-scholarship Pioneer Football League, going 10-2. One year later, the Bears moved to the scholarship level in the SoCon, where Lamb previously coached at Furman for nine seasons from 2002-10.

He has a 108-79 career record.

Mercer announced it has begun a national search for a new coach.