03/26/26 03:07:00
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03/26 15:05 CDT LSU fires men's basketball coach Matt McMahon, is finalizing
agreement to rehire Will Wade
LSU fires men's basketball coach Matt McMahon, is finalizing agreement to
rehire Will Wade
By BRETT MARTEL
AP Sports Writer
LSU fired fourth-year coach Matt McMahon on Thursday and reached an agreement
to rehire former Tigers coach Will Wade from N.C. State.
"This was not an easy decision," Wade wrote in a social media post Thursday in
which he thanked N.C. State for the opportunity to coach the Wolfpack. "But the
opportunity to return to Louisiana State University is deeply personal. It's a
chance to go home --- to a place that means a great deal to me and my family."
While LSU had yet to formally announce the coaching change, a person with
knowledge of the development confirmed it to The Associated Press on Thursday.
The person said Wade was expected to fly to Baton Rouge as early as Thursday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the official announcement
was still pending.
The topic of Wade's potential return to LSU had been churning for weeks, enough
so that Wade was ready with a response when asked about it after the Wolfpack's
loss to Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. That included
noting that the job at the time wasn't open, with McMahon --- the permanent
successor after Wade's ouster --- still in place.
"I was hired at NC State to do a job. This wasn't going to take one year," Wade
said, then motioned toward Wolfpack athletic director Boo Corrigan at the back
of the news-conference room. "I've already met with our administration about
next year and some of the changes that we need to make and some of the things
that we need to do to put this program where it deserves long-term."
Exactly two weeks later, Wade was gone. The buyout in Wade's six-year deal at
N.C. State was for $5 million, but was scheduled to drop to $3 million after
April 1. N.C. State athletic director Boo Corrigan said the university agreed
to lower the buyout to $4 million, preferring to let Wade leave as soon as
possible so as not to delay the search for his successor.
"As far as the resignation letter, it was an email that we received from his
agent," Corrigan said. "I'm disappointed in how it went down. I really am."
However, Corrigan said he did not regret hiring Wade, and credited the coach
with reinvigorating the program. Corrigan said he intended to "commiserate"
with financial supporters of the Wolfpack who are "feeling lied to," and seek
to reassure them he's going to find a coach that "wants to be at N.C. State for
a long time."
Wade's return to LSU comes four years after his firing there over allegations
of money-fueled recruiting violations, which came amid a federal corruption
investigation into the sport. Wade rebuilt his career with a two-year stint at
McNeese that included 50 wins and two trips to March Madness.
Wade's lone season in Raleigh started with the coach confidently predicting a
"reckoning" for the ACC and college basketball at his introductory news
conference, coming a year ago Wednesday. He promised the Wolfpack would be in
the top part of the ACC standings and reach the NCAA Tournament.
The Wolfpack accomplished the latter in a season that started with promise but
faded badly. Notably, N.C. State stood at 18-6 overall and 9-2 in the ACC as of
Feb. 7 before losing six of seven to close the regular season, including a
41-point loss at Louisville, a 29-point loss at Virginia and another 29-point
loss at home to Duke.
Along the way, Wade's postgame comments could range from a defiant and
expletive-dotted defense on top transfer addition Darrion Williams to
frustrated analyses of the performances and shortcomings of the overhauled
roster he put together.
N.C. State, which finished seventh in the 18-team league, ended up in the First
Four and lost to Texas on a last-second shot for its eighth loss in 10 games.
McMahon was hired at LSU in 2022 by then-athletic director Scott Woodward, who
resigned under pressure from Gov. Jeff Landry last October in the wake of the
firing of former Tigers football coach Brian Kelly.
Soon after, the LSU Board of Supervisors hired former McNeese State President
Wade Rousse as LSU system president. This week, LSU lured McNeese State
athletic director Heath Schroyer to a senior role as deputy athletics director
overseeing men's basketball. Schroyer, a former college basketball coach
himself, was the first to hire Wade as the coach's one-year suspension by the
NCAA ended.
The Louisiana governor appoints 15 of the 16 members of the LSU Board of
Supervisors to staggered six-year terms. Landry has appointed seven so far and
the terms of four other board members expire in June, giving the governor
considerable influence over the leadership in LSU's athletic department.
Wade was exceedingly popular with LSU's fan base, which was raucous in its
support of him during pre-game introductions at the Pete Maravich Assembly
Center --- even after accusations of his NCAA violations became public.
Wade went 105-51 at LSU. He led LSU to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2019,
2021 and 2022. His 2020 team appeared to be a virtual lock for March Madness
before the tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When LSU fired Wade, then-university President William F. Tate and Woodward
said Wade's tenure and the allegations that followed him placed the men's
basketball program "under an exhausting shroud of negativity."
LSU received a formal notice of allegations from the NCAA's Complex Case unit,
including multiple charges alleging Wade's personal involvement in --- or
awareness of --- Level I misconduct.
Level I violations can include a head coach's lack of oversight on compliance
matters; failure to cooperate in an NCAA investigation; unethical or dishonest
conduct; or prohibited cash or similar benefits provided to recruits.
However, virtually everything of which Wade was accused is now not only legal,
but widely seen as critical to success during a new era of college sports in
which player payments --- both from endorsements and directly from university
athletic departments --- are permitted.
LSU has not been to March Madness since Wade left.
McMahon --- saddled during his first two seasons by NCAA-approved, self-imposed
scholarship reductions stemming from the Wade allegations --- went 60-70 at
LSU. This season, LSU went 15-17, posting a last-place 3-15 record in the SEC.
McMahon is still owed around $8 million by LSU, which also has had to buy out
the remaining $54 million on Kelly's football contract since firing him.
___
AP Basketball Writer Aaron Beard in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed to
this report.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and
coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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