TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Athletics Director at the University of Alabama Greg Byrne announced Thursday that the main men’s basketball Nate Oats and the University agreed to an increase and extension of the contract.
The new deal will extend his current contract for three seasons to six years and keep him in charge of the Crimson Tide basketball program until March 14, 2027. The base salary and talent fee will increase to $ 3.225 million annually.
“We are excited to agree to an extension of the contract with the University of Alabama,” said Oats. “Crystal and our daughters love it here and we are committed to the University of Alabama. We feel that we have a great positive momentum with our team and that the program is in the right direction. Our management is making an important statement with this extension, as we all we are working on building a successful program for the long term. I know the history of victories we had with Alabama basketball and I feel that we can contribute to that and accomplish great things here. Greg Byrne and our track and field administration, President Stuart Bell, Chancellor St. John and The Board of Trustees provided it to us. This is really a reflection of the excellent work that our basketball players, coaches and team have been doing for the past two years. Now we need all of our focus to finish this season in the right way and give our team the best chance to succeed in the final stretch. “
Now in his second season at the helm of the Crimson Tide program, Oats led Alabama to an overall record of 17-5 and 12-1 in the Southeastern Conference game. The Tide is currently in 8th place in the last Top 25 of the Associated Press, which is the best AP Poll ranking since the 2006-07 campaign. In addition, the last time Alabama was ranked in the AP Top 10 in mid-February was in 2002. Projected as the second seed in this year’s NCAA tournament, which would correspond to the largest seed in the program’s history, the Crimson Tide is only two wins away from winning the program’s first regular season title in 19 years. He has a record of 33-20 (0.623) in his two years at Capstone and a 20-11 mark (0.645) against SEC competition.
Before coming to Alabama, Oats spent four seasons (2015-19) at University at Buffalo, where he led the Bulls to a 96-43 record (0.691), three MAC Tournament championships and three NCAA tournament appearances. He was named League Coach of the Year and District 14 Coach of the Year for the National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC) for consecutive seasons (2018-2019) and finished fourth in the poll for 2019 Men’s College coach Associated Press of the year.
“We are excited to be able to announce an extension of the contract with our male basketball coach Nate Oats“said Byrne.” We had high expectations when we signed Coach Oats. He has exceeded those expectations and we want to ensure that he is remunerated among the top half of the SEC. We have implemented acquisition measures that show the long-term commitment between both parties. Coach Oats and his team developed a comprehensive program that maximized the experience of our student-athlete, significantly increased interest in Alabama basketball with future recruits, and presented a product that excited our fan base. Nate, Crystal and the Oats family embraced our community and state and, in turn, our fans embraced them. Special thanks go to President Bell, Chancellor St. John and our Board of Trustees for their support in helping to do this extension. “
“We are very proud of what our men’s basketball program has achieved in just a short time under the leadership of Coach Oats,” said University of Alabama President Stuart R. Bell. “His emphasis on effort, continued growth and altruism has helped our student-athletes to excel on the court, in the classroom and in the community. He has adopted the University of Alabama standard of excellence and we are excited that he continues to lead our program. In the next years. “
Although the appropriate members of the Board of Trustees have been notified of the proposed terms and conditions for the proposed contract extension, the financial terms remain subject to approval by the Board of Trustees.