It’s that time of year where the coaching carousel has already started spinning in college basketball with job openings at programs like Michigan, Ohio State and Louisville.
Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne is doing his best to lock up Nate Oats to remain as the head coach of the Crimson Tide.
“Nate Oats has signed a new contract that will go before the Board of Trustees for approval next week,” Byrne said in a statement Friday night. “We are excited about the success of our men’s basketball program and Nate’s continued commitment to the University. We look forward to him leading our men’s basketball program for many years to come.”
Full details of the contract will be released during the Board of Trustees’ meeting on Monday. According to a report by ESPN, it is a longterm extension that will make Oats one of the five highest-paid college basketball coaches in the country.
His contract was last extended in February of 2023 through 2028-2029, where he would be making over $5 million annually in 2029. This season, Oats was slated to make $4.1 million.
Oats has been the head coach of Alabama since 2019. In that time frame, he has taken the Crimson Tide to three NCAA tournaments (with Alabama heading to a fourth this season), won two regular season SEC championships and two SEC tournament titles. He has also helped produce six NBA draft picks with four going in the first round.
Prior to his arrival, Alabama made just two NCAA tournaments in 13 years. The program had not won an SEC regular season title since 2002 or a tournament championship since 1991 before Oats accomplished both in 2021. He repeated the feat in 2023.
Despite losing his entire coaching staff and returning only three players, Alabama is 21-10 (13-5 SEC) this season and is the 3-seed in the conference tournament. The Crimson Tide opens play at the tournament Friday night against 6-seed Florida at approximately 8:30 p.m.
