Nate Oats explains decision to turn down blue-blood programs: ‘I’d like to win one here’

Given what he’s accomplished over five years at Alabama, Nate Oats’ name was mentioned among many top-tier coaching searches this past offseason, including at Kentucky. But, much like he decided this winter, so long as it’s up to him, he’ll continue to coach the Crimson Tide.

On ‘College Hoops Today’ with Jon Rothstein, Oats spoke about staying in Tuscaloosa rather than taking another job elsewhere. He said he still is focused on winning a national title as a result of what they have built so far over a half decade at ‘Bama.

“I, personally, I’d like to win one here,” said Oats. “I’d like to stay here. You know, we’ve built this thing in the last five years to a pretty special program.”

Several top jobs came open over this offseason in college hoops. Teams like Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, and Ohio State were among those with openings available. That’s not even including any potential ones that he could consider in the NBA.

A few of those reportedly pursued Oats to be their next head coach. Instead, though, he remained at Alabama.

Oats said that either staying or leaving would have had its positives and negatives. It’s a decision between possibly going somewhere with more of a history in the sport or constructing upon what they’re doing in the present day

“You know, it’s a great question,” said Oats. “You know, we had some interest from some other programs that maybe had a little bit more basketball tradition. There’s some intrigue to that. There’s some places here that, you know, even in our league, that maybe are more basketball schools, if you will. I think it’s a little more special to win the first, you know, and make it to the first Final Four, have a chance to win the first national championship at a school than it would be to win, you know, multiple ones, you know.

“There’s pros and cons to both obviously,” Oats continued. “I do think we have more than enough resources to win a national championship here but some other places where basketball has been, you know, kind of king for a long time, you know, maybe just has better tradition and all that.”

Alabama has been among the best in collegiate basketball since Oats’ arrival in 2019. They’ve gone 117-54 (.684) for him to already have one of the best win percentages in school history. That has led to four conference titles and four appearances in the NCAA Tournament. They’ve been a top-six seed in each, including three as a top-four seed and one at No. 1 overall. They then made their first-ever trip to the Final Four in 2024.

Oats will now go into his sixth season with one of the top-ranked teams in the sport that could get that first national title for Alabama Basketball. It’s the way he’d prefer to do it too with how they’ve progressed as a program during his tenure.

“I’d like to continue to knock on that door, win a national championship here, and keep doing what we’re doing,” said Oats. “Keep pushing forward until we can be the seventh sport at Alabama to win a national championship.”