ALABAMA – As the University at Buffalo marched to a Mid-American Conference tournament title two years ago, the school announced a five-year contract extension with then-coach Nate Oats.
Thirteen days later, Alabama hired him.
Oats, 46, appears to have a bright coaching future following his success at Buffalo and now with the Tide. The program is closing in on its first regular-season SEC title since 2002 and is widely projected as a No. 2 seed in next month’s NCAA tournament, which would match a school best.
The momentum, which includes 13 wins in its past 15 games, prompted Alabama to add a three-year extension to Oats’ contract that was announced Thursday. In his statement on the deal, athletics director Greg Byrne said, “We have put buyout measures in place that show the long-term commitment between both parties.”
Oats emphasized Friday that he does not have his eyes on jobs elsewhere in college basketball.
“I want to be here, so I don’t really care what the buyout is for me to leave here,” he said. “They’re guaranteeing me a lot of money, so if they want to make me pay a lot to leave, I don’t really care because I’m not planning on leaving. They made them both [salary and buyout] high. It shows their commitment to me. It shows our commitment as a family to this university, this administration, this city, this state. We love it here. We want to be here a long time.
“You can put the buyout at whatever you want. If I’m not leaving, it’s not going to get paid. And shoot, I was a high school teacher not making very much money eight years ago, so I don’t have any money to pay a buyout. I haven’t been making very much money for a long time. There are no plans of me leaving here anytime soon.”
Alabama in recent weeks has reached its highest poll rankings in over a decade, while Oats in his two seasons has amassed an overall 20-11 record in conference play while beating 12 out of 13 possible opponents.
“We’ve done pretty well here in Year 2, and my family has grown to really like the area. I like it. Great people to work with here,” he said Friday. “I thank Greg Byrne — he’s been unbelievable to work with. But everybody from the chancellor down to [president] Dr. [Stuart] Bell, I think they’re just really good people that get what it means to succeed.
“Obviously they’ve been succeeding at a high level across the street in football for a while, so we’re trying to get the basketball program up, and I think it shows a commitment to what needs to happen to get this thing up to where they want it. I think we’ve made pretty good strides in two years and planning on being here a long time.”
Alabama renovated its basketball practice facility in 2016, while Byrne reiterated last week that upgrading the aging Coleman Coliseum is a priority but still requires financial hurdles to be cleared.
“People have brought [the facilities] up a lot. When Greg interviewed me, they had a plan — they’re still looking at it. Obviously COVID’s put a lot of the damper in the Coleman plan, but Greg Byrne is still working,” Oats said. “I’ll say this: getting an updated, new Coleman, that would be great for you guys, the fans, a little bit for us.
“But we spend 80 percent of our time in [the practice facility, which] I think is the best in the country, or at the top. It’s in the upper echelon. Our practice gym, our weight room, our offices, the player lounge, video room, all of that stuff — I’ve been in tons of high-major places. When I was a high school coach, I used to go on all kinds of visits. This is as good as any setup anywhere.
“Now, when we go to play the games, would it be nicer to have the fans right on top? Would it be nicer for all the fans out there to have a little bit better amenities. Would it be great to have the student section right down on the floor? Yeah, and hopefully that gets done here soon.
“But really, when we’re recruiting — which is the lifeblood of your program — you’re playing a game and there’s still 15,000 people that they can put in this arena and it gets very loud when it gets packed. Everything else we’re using is top-notch. If you come through and tour our player lounge, training room, video room, kitchen, the practice gym, the weight room is right off the practice gym — it’s what we need.
“I don’t think there are any facilities that are holding us back from winning at the level that we need to win at, if that makes sense.”
Oats envisions his team being a perennial NCAA tournament contender instead of being on the bubble as in past seasons.
“I think the resources are here at Alabama for us to be performing at a high level within the SEC and within the country on a year-in and year-out basis,” he said. “I’m gonna be pushing to make sure that happens every year.
“Shoot, right now they got us projected to be a 2 seed. A 2 seed means you’re supposed to make a run to the Elite Eight if all the higher seeds win. That’s as far as this program has gone. I’d like to kind of break through that barrier and make it past that and see what we can’t do. I think we’ve got the talent this year to do it and I would hope that we’re knocking on that door a few more years in the next five years.”
