Alabama coach Nate Oats gets new 6-year, $30 million deal

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Alabama coach Nate Oatshas agreed to a new six-year, $30 million contract amid theprogram’s best regular season in decades.

Oats will average $5 million plus incentives over the dealrunning through the 2028-29 season under a deal approved Friday bythe University of Alabama System Board of Trustees CompensationCommittee.

It makes him the fourth-highest paid basketball coach in theSoutheastern Conference and among the Top 10 nationally, athleticdirector Greg Byrne said.

Oats, who is in his fourth season, will make $4.5 million forthe first year with $200,000 annual raises. The fourth-rankedCrimson Tide (19-3, 9-0 SEC) has the team’s highest ranking thisdeep into a season since 1976-77.

“I am honored and humbled to receive a contract extension fromthe University of Alabama,” Oats said in a statement. “As I havesaid many times, my family and I love this community, the city ofTuscaloosa and the university.

“I am incredibly proud of what we have been able to build duringour time at UA which is a direct reflection of thestudent-athletes, coaches and staff who have all played a big partin our success. I am excited for what’s happening in the future ofour program and the direction we are heading.”

Alabama has gone 80-39 under Oats, winning the 2021 SEC regularseason and tournament championships.

“Coach Oats has done an outstanding job leading our men’sbasketball program, and we want him to continue doing so for manyyears to come,” Byrne said in a statement. “He and his staff havelifted the program back to national prominence and built a productthat is exciting to be a part of for our team and for our fans.

“We were confident Nate was going to be an outstanding coach forus when we hired him, and he is not only that, but also a greatleader of our young men.”

The new contract comes nearly three weeks after Alabamabasketball player Darius Miles and another man were charged withcapital murder following a fatal shooting near campus. Miles, areserve forward, was removed from the team and suspended from theuniversity following his arrest.