Former LSU men’s basketball head coach Will Wade has been named the new head coach at McNeese State.
This comes exactly one year after he was terminated with cause by LSU for violating his contract and committing five Level I violations against the NCAA.
Throughout his time with the program, Wade led the Tigers to three NCAA tournaments in just four seasons, putting the team on the map and on track to compete for a national title. His biggest accomplishment came in the 2018-19 season, where his team won the SEC regular-season title and earned a three-seed in the NCAA tournament.
That’s also where his controversies began, as the head coach was not present for his team’s run to the Sweet Sixteen due to suspension for recruitment violations amidst his pursuit of four-star guard Javonte Smart. 
He takes over a program that has struggled to establish itself in the Southland conference over the past two decades. The last NCAA Tournament appearance from McNeese State was in 2002 and the program has had just three winning seasons since.
It will be Wade’s fourth head coaching job of his career, adding McNeese State to a list including Chattanooga, VCU and LSU.