Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats has signed a new contract, the school’s athletic director said.
Alabama AD Greg Byrne said in a social media post on Friday that Oats’ contract will go before the school’s Board of Trustees next week.
“We are excited about the success of our men’s basketball program and Nate’s continued commitment to the University,” Byrne said in his post. “We look forward to him leading our men’s basketball program for many years to come.”
The 19th-ranked Crimson Tide (21-10) faced Florida on Friday night in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinal round.
Alabama, the No. 3 seed, came into the conference tournament in Nashville having won the regular-season and conference tournament championships two of the past three years under Oats. The coach thought his Crimson Tide might’ve won the regular-season title again this year if they hadn’t been without Latrell Wrightsell Jr. because of a concussion for part of the season.
Alabama hired Oats in 2019 from Buffalo, where he helped turn the Bulls into an NCAA Tournament team and conference champion. He replaced Avery Johnson, who led the Tide to one NCAA tourney in four seasons.
Under Oats, Alabama has advanced to the NCAA Tournament three years in a row.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
