Nate Oats has established himself as one of the premier leaders in college basketball since being named head men’s basketball coach at The University of Alabama on March 28, 2019. A native of Watertown, Wisconsin, Oats has delivered on his promise of an up-tempo, high-scoring style of play, guiding the Crimson Tide to unprecedented success. In his first six seasons in Tuscaloosa, he amassed 145 victories, captured multiple SEC regular-season and tournament championships, and led Alabama to its first-ever NCAA Final Four appearance in 2024. He became the fastest coach in program history to reach 100 wins and has consistently positioned Alabama among the nation’s elite, including a No. 1 overall seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament and consecutive Elite Eight appearances. His leadership earned him SEC Coach of the Year honors in 2021.
Before Alabama, Oats served as head coach at Buffalo from 2015 to 2019, compiling a 96-43 record with three MAC Tournament championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances. His 2018 squad secured the program’s first NCAA Tournament win, and he earned back-to-back MAC Coach of the Year honors in 2018 and 2019. Oats began his coaching career in the high school ranks at Romulus High School in Michigan, where he won a state championship and built a nationally ranked program. A graduate of Maranatha Baptist University and the University of Wisconsin, Oats emphasizes a culture built on Max Effort, Continuous Growth, and Selfless Love. He is the proud father of three daughters: Lexie, Jocie, and Brielle.
