Alabama HC Nate Oats agrees to long-term extension with Tide

Nate Oats has agreed to a long-term extension that will keep him as Alabama’s head basketball coach “for many years to come,” Crimson Tide Athletic Director Greg Byrne announced Friday.

According to ESPN, the extension will make Oats one of the five highest-paid coaches in men’s college basketball, although the contract details have yet to be disclosed.

The deal will also need to be approved by Alabama’s Board of Trustees before it becomes official.

Oats has coached Alabama for the previous five seasons, having led the Crimson Tide to two regular-season SEC titles and two conference tournament titles. Oats is also about to lead Alabama to their fourth straight NCAA tournament berth, and the Crimson Tide have also made two appearances in the Sweet 16 during his time there. He had been speculated as a potential candidate for top college basketball coaching vacancies as this year’s coaching carousel gets underway, including the Michigan job that opened up after the Wolverines dismissed Juwan Howard on Friday.

Oats has a 113-52 record at Alabama since taking over in 2019 after a successful stint at Buffalo, where he led the Mid-American Conference program to three NCAA tournament appearances in four years.

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