During his first tour at LSU, Will Wade earned three wins in three NCAA Tournaments and one enduring reputation after being recorded discussing a “strong-ass offer” he made to a recruit.
That recording, which raised the ire of the NCAA, cost Wade his job in 2022.
But after piling up 78 wins over three seasons at McNeese and NC State, Wade has returned to Baton Rouge promising an even more spectacular story arc this time around. His re-introductory news conference happened Monday before a crowd of eager fans.
“Make no mistake, this is home. I wasn’t born in Louisiana, but Louisiana is home for me — me and my family,” Wade said to strong applause. “You know, we’re coming back to make history. We’re going to make history one way or the other.
“We’re coming back … to try to hang a banner, win a national championship. Or I’m going to be the first coach fired from the same school twice. But one way or another, we’re going to make history!”
Wade, 43, delivered a 105-51 record over five seasons at LSU (2017-22). His finest year was his second, when the Tigers went 25-5, won the Southeastern Conference’s regular-season title and reached the Sweet 16.
LSU fired Wade in March 2022 once the NCAA accused him of multiple major violations, which eventually led to a two-year show-cause penalty and a 10-game suspension.
McNeese, located 126 miles west of LSU, hired him prior to the 2023-24 season. Wade served his suspension, then led the Cowboys to 30-4 and 28-7 seasons that included two NCAA Tournament bids and one upset win over Clemson in a 12 vs. 5 first-round game.
NC State lured Wade out of Louisiana prior to this season. Wade and the Wolfpack posted a 20-14 record that earned a No. 11 NCAA Tournament seed. One week after NC State lost to Texas in the First Four, Wade announced his intent to return to LSU.
That generated some heat out of Raleigh, N.C., where athletic director Boo Corrigan expressed “disappointment” that Wade elected to resign less than 48 hours after meeting with Corrigan to discuss ways to make the Wolfpack more competitive.
“I would commiserate with (NC State fans) in terms of feeling lied to,” Corrigan said last week.
Wade had a response to Corrigan’s assertions.
“I think some of the things have been mischaracterized on how I left,” Wade said. “But I don’t want — I learned long ago I’m not going to get into a back-and-forth on all of that. The people who need to know, know. When there’s a situation like this, everyone has to cover. You know, has to cover. Let’s put it that way.
“I’m at peace with how I left. I’m at peace with what we did. And, look, they’re pretty mad for a coach they didn’t think was very good. So…”
Wade paused at that point as the applause swelled. His next job will be to restore a program that comes off back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 2009-11.
