TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama men's basketball coach Nate Oats has agreed to a new six-year, $30 million contract amid the program's best regular season in decades.
Oats will average $5 million annually, plus incentives, over the course of the deal, which runs through the 2028-29 season. The contract was approved Friday by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees Compensation Committee.
His salary will rank fourth among Southeastern Conference men's basketball coaches and be in the top 10 nationally, athletic director Greg Byrne said. The 48-year-old Oats, who is in his fourth season at Alabama, will make $4.5 million for the first year, with $200,000 annual raises to follow.
The fourth-ranked Crimson Tide (19-3, 9-0 SEC), who visit LSU (12-10, 1-8) on Saturday, have the program's highest ranking this deep into a season since 1976-77.
"I am honored and humbled to receive a contract extension from the University of Alabama," Oats said in Alabama's release announcing the deal. "As I have said many times, my family and I love this community, the city of Tuscaloosa and the university.
"I am incredibly proud of what we have been able to build during our time at UA which is a direct reflection of the student-athletes, coaches and staff who have all played a big part in our success. I am excited for what's happening in the future of our program and the direction we are heading."
Alabama has gone 80-39 under Oats, who led the Tide to a sweep of the SEC regular-season and tournament championships two years ago. The team went on to reach Sweet 16 that season but lost its NCAA tournament opener last year and finished 19-14 overall.
This season, the Tide have already matched that number in wins, with the victories including two against teams ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 at the time: 103-101 against North Carolina in four overtimes on Nov. 27 and 71-65 at Houston on Dec. 10.
Before coming to Alabama, Oats spent four seasons as Buffalo's head coach and led the Bulls to three NCAA tournament appearances.
"Coach Oats has done an outstanding job leading our men's basketball program, and we want him to continue doing so for many years to come," Byrne said in the release. "He and his staff have lifted the program back to national prominence and built a product that 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 for us when we hired him, and he is not only that, but also a great leader of our young men."
The new contract comes nearly three weeks since Darius Miles — a reserve forward for the team at the time — and another man were charged with capital murder after a fatal shooting near campus. Miles was removed from the team and suspended from the university after his arrest.