Nate Oats receives raise and contract extension to remain at Alabama

By WVUA-23 Sports Reporter Molly Harrold

Alabama has given Nate Oats a two-year contract extension through 2029 making him the fourth highest-paid basketball coach in the Southeastern Conference.

The Board of Trustees at the University of Alabama met Friday morning to approve the contract extension.

“I didn’t want to leave here,” Oats said. “(My daughter) Lexie’s a freshman here. (My daughter) Jocie’s in eighth grade. (My daughter) Brielle’s in fifth
grade. They’ve moved enough. We wanted to be here. Greg’s been a great boss to work for, unbelievable. Dr. Bell’s a great president to work for. The board’s been super supportive. We’ve
wanted to stay here. We’re having a successful season. It’s great to have the players we have.”

This puts Oats in the country’s top 10 highest-paid coaches. He will receive $4.5 million in his first year under the contract with a $200,000 escalator making his annual compensation $5 million according to Alabama director of athletics Greg Byrne.

Oats’ contract also has incentives based on wins over SEC opponents, winning the Southeastern Conference tournament championship, and trips to the NCAA tournament.

“The extension’s done. We’re not going anywhere, didn’t want to go anywhere,” Oats said. “So that just puts to rest all those rumors. It helps in recruiting, helps bring some stability to the program and we can get back to concentrating on basketball games and moving forward.”

Alabama (19-3, 9-0 SEC) is ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press Top 25. The Crimson Tide will travel to play LSU in Baton Rouge, La. on Saturday. The game is set for 3:00 p.m. on ESPN.