Nate Oats
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Nathanael Justin Oats (born October 13, 1974) is an American
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
coach, currently the head basketball coach at the
University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
. Prior to Alabama he was the head coach at the
University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...
.


Education and playing career

Oats grew up in
Watertown, Wisconsin Watertown is a city in Dodge and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Most of the city's population is in Jefferson County. Division Street, several blocks north of downtown, marks the county line. The population of Watertown was 22, ...
, where he was a three-year starter on the Maranatha Academy high school basketball team which went 24–0 in his senior year. He stayed in Watertown after high school, playing college basketball at NCCAA Division II/NCAA Division III
Maranatha Baptist University Maranatha Baptist University is a private Baptist university in Watertown, Wisconsin. History The institution was founded in 1968 as Maranatha Baptist Bible College by B. Myron Cedarholm. The college was named for the Aramaic phrase ''Marana ...
. He was an all-conference player and served as a captain of the Crusaders while earning a
bachelor’s degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six y ...
in math education. He subsequently received a
Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
from the
University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
in
kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human health ...
and
exercise science Exercise physiology is the physiology of physical exercise. It is one of the allied health professions, and involves the study of the acute responses and chronic adaptations to exercise. Exercise physiologists are the highest qualified exercise ...
.


Coaching career

After finishing his playing career at Maranatha Baptist, Oats became a member of the team's coaching staff in 1997, where he remained until 2000. He then served as an assistant men's basketball coach for the Division-III
University of Wisconsin–Whitewater The University of Wisconsin–Whitewater (UW–Whitewater) is a public university in Whitewater, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System. Student enrollment in the 2014–2015 academic year was more than 12,000. The universit ...
. After the 2002 season, Oats left Wisconsin–Whitewater to become the head basketball coach and a teacher at
Romulus High School Romulus Senior High School or Romulus High School is the public high school in the city of Romulus, Michigan in Metro Detroit. History In 2013 Inkster High School closed due to the closure of the Inkster School District. Students in the Ink ...
near
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
. Over 11 years at Romulus, Oats accumulated a 222–52 record and reached the semifinals of the state tournament five times. In 2013, Oats led the team to a 27–1 record and a state Class A championship en route to winning multiple coach of the year honors from the local press. He won similar coaching awards in 2005, 2008 and 2009.


Buffalo

While recruiting Romulus guard E. C. Matthews on behalf of
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
in 2013,
Bobby Hurley Robert Matthew Hurley (born June 28, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils. He was previously the head coach at the University at Buffalo. As a college ...
was impressed by Oats' coaching. Shortly thereafter, Hurley was named the head coach at Buffalo and hired Oats as an assistant on his staff. During his two-year tenure as an assistant, Buffalo had a 42–20 record, won their first Mid-American Conference tournament and made their first ever NCAA tournament appearance. As an assistant at Buffalo, Oats was credited with recruiting Justin Moss, who would go on to win the 2014–15 MAC Player of the Year award. On April 9, 2015, the same day that Bobby Hurley announced that he would be leaving Buffalo to take the head coaching job at
Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
, Oats was named the interim head coach at Buffalo. During the days immediately after Hurley announced his departure, Buffalo's athletic director at the time, Danny White, interviewed the team's players, all of whom advocated for Oats becoming the permanent head coach. Also, Hurley told White that he would hire Oats at Arizona State if White didn't hire him permanently. In a 2019
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
story on Oats, White recalled, "What stood out is the connections he had with our players. His reputation as a high school coach -- most people I asked said he ran it like a Division I college program. Players had a strong relationship with him." On April 13, Oats was officially given the head coaching job; his base salary was $250,000. The Buffalo roster for his first season as a head coach featured two former Romulus players: Christian Pino and Raheem Johnson. In Oats' first season as head coach of Buffalo, he led the Bulls to a 3rd place tie in the
Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...
standings. In the MAC Tournament, Buffalo defeated
Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...
,
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, and then top-seeded
Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...
to claim the 2016 conference tournament championship. This has been regarded as an impressive feat due to the offseason turnaround that Oats faced. 2015 MAC Player of the Year Justin Moss was dismissed from the University and second-leading scorer Shannon Evans transferred to Arizona State to play for the then-departed Bobby Hurley. On May 18, 2016, Buffalo Athletic Director Allen Greene announced that the school had agreed on a new five-year contract with Oats. In Oats' third season, 2017–18, the Bulls began conference play with eight straight wins, the best conference start in team history. The Bulls finished the 2017–18 MAC schedule with a 15–3 record, and Oats was named MAC coach of the year as the Bulls won outright the conference regular season for the first time in team history. The Bulls went on to win the 2018 MAC tournament. On March 8, 2018, Oats signed a contract extension with the University at Buffalo to remain head basketball coach through 2023. Oats' Buffalo Bulls went on to the 2018 NCAA Tournament seeded 13th in the South Region where they convincingly beat the favored 4th seed
Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...
89–68. Oats briefly described his coaching philosophy in the aforementioned 2019 ESPN story, saying, "We did a culture playbook two summers ago and our three main beliefs — core values, we call them — are max effort, continuous growth and selfless love." Since taking over as Buffalo head coach, Oats added what the story called "a blue-collar element to his program that reflects Buffalo itself" — the coaching staff charts what it calls "blue-collar points", defined as any play that contributes to a win but is not recorded in a traditional box score, with examples including but not limited to pass deflections and taking charges. The player with the most such points in a given game receives a construction helmet. During the 2018-19 regular season, Oats led the Bulls to a 28-3 record and was named 2019 MAC Coach of the Year. On March 14, 2019, Oats signed a contract extension with the
University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...
to remain head basketball coach through the 2024 season.


Alabama

On March 27, 2019, athletic director
Greg Byrne Greg Byrne, K.C. (born April 14, 1960, in Harvey, New Brunswick) is a lawyer and former MLA in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Byrne was educated at Fredericton High School, Saint Thomas University (where he received a Bachelor of Ar ...
named Oats the head coach of the
Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a me ...
. His tenure as of 2021 has been viewed as relatively successful, having earned a selection into March Madness two consecutive years. This success led to Oats signing a 3-year contract extension in February 2021 to remain at Alabama through the 2027 season. This extension also raised Oats' annual compensation to $3.225 million. At the conclusion of the 2020-2021 regular season, and in his second season as head coach, Oats won the SEC Coach of the Year award. The Tide won the SEC regular-season and tournament titles and made the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018. They lost the Sweet Sixteen game in overtime to UCLA, 88–78.


Personal life

Oats and his wife Crystal have three daughters, Lexie, Jocie and Brielle. In November 2015, Oats announced on his
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page that his wife had an aggressive form of
lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...
and would be undergoing
chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...
. With his wife's encouragement, he confirmed that he would not be renouncing his coaching duties. Oats is a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
.


Head coaching record


References


External links


Buffalo Bulls bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oats, Nate 1974 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Wisconsin Basketball players from Wisconsin Buffalo Bulls men's basketball coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in the United States Maranatha Baptist Sabercats men's basketball players People from Watertown, Wisconsin Place of birth missing (living people) Sportspeople from the Milwaukee metropolitan area Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks men's basketball coaches