The University at Buffalo and men’s basketball coach Nate Oats have agreed to a new five-year contract through the 2024 season, Director of Athletics Mark Alnutt announced today.
The new contract makes Oats the highest paid coach in the Mid-American Conference with an annual salary of $837,000 which includes a base salary of $612,000 and $225,000 to be raised through philanthropic gifts designated to the men’s basketball program.
Oats has led the Bulls to one of their best seasons in university history, with a 29-3 overall record and a No. 1 seed in the Mid-American Conference tournament, underway in Cleveland. Yesterday Oats was named the Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year for the second straight season, becoming the sixth MAC head coach since 1970 to win the award in back-to-back seasons.
UB defeated Akron, 82-46, on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament and moves on to the semifinals Friday.
“This new contract for Nate is extremely well deserved,” said Alnutt. “I have been extremely impressed on how he has built this program to one that deserves national attention and respect. I would like to thank Dr. Tripathi for his leadership and tremendous support for our student-athletes and our athletic program as a whole. Furthermore, this could not have been done without the support of our dedicated fans base. I look forward to working with Nate and his staff for the remainder of this season and for many years to come.”
For the 2018-19 season the Bulls have been nationally ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for 18 straight weeks, peaking as high as 14th in the nation. Under Oats, they posted a 16-2 record in conference play, winning the MAC regular season title outright for the second time in university history. The 16 MAC wins are a program record, while the 29 overall victories set a new program mark for wins.
“Our family and our coaching staff are extremely thankful for the appreciation shown for the job we have done by President Tripathi, Mark Alnutt, and the entire administration at UB,” said Oats. “The support from our community, fans, and boosters has been nothing short of incredible. We love it in Buffalo and look forward to continuing to build on what we have going here.”
Oats is one of 11 semifinalists for the Werner Ladder Naismith National Coach of the Year, and a finalist for the Skip Prosse Award, which is presented annually to those who not only achieve success on the basketball court but who also exhibit strong moral character.
Oats has a 92-42 career record at UB. He is the winningest coach in program history in terms of winning percentage and the fastest coach in UB history to achieve 90 victories, in doing so just under four seasons. In the past two seasons, Oats led the Bulls to 55 wins – the eighth highest total in NCAA Men’s Basketball over that time period.
http://www.ubbulls.com/sports/mbkb/2018-19/releases/20190314o0nt27
