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McNeese State hiring former LSU head coach Will Wade, inking him to five-year deal

Stephen Samraby:Steve Samra03/12/23

SamraSource

Will Wade
(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Will Wade is officially returning to the college basketball world.

The former LSU Tigers head coach is being hired by McNeese State, per a press release from the program. The deal is for five years, as Wade will be introduced as the program’s next leader on Monday.

“McNeese has named former LSU head coach Will Wade as its next men’s basketball coach, Director of Athletics Heath Schroyer announced Sunday evening,” wrote the Cowboys. “A formal introduction will be held Monday at noon in the Legacy Center.

“The public is encouraged to attend and the first 200 McNeese students will receive free box combos from Raising”

Will Wade was fired by LSU for cause in March 2022. A notice of allegations from the NCAA charged him with five Level I violations, which included paying players. That firing came after he had previously been suspended in 2019 and was reinstated once his contract was changed to allow LSU to fire him for cause if it was proven he committed a major violation.

The notice of allegations included some information provided by the FBI during the agency’s investigation into college basketball.

Prior to coaching at LSU, Will Wade was the head man at Chattanooga and VCU. He compiled a 105-51 record from 2017-22 at LSU. That included a trip to the Sweet Sixteen.

McNeese State fired head coach John Aiken earlier this week. The team went just 22-45 over the past two seasons.

Matt McMahon replaced Will Wade at LSU, going just 14-19 in his first season after several years of success at Murray State.

On3’s Dan Morrison contributed to this article.