Will Wade
Virginia Commonwealth head coach Will Wade answers a question during a news conference ahead of a second-round men's college basketball game against Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament Saturday, March 19, 2016, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
(Sue Ogrocki)
LSU and Will Wade have agreed to a six-year deal for Wade to take over the Tigers men's basketball program, sources confirmed to The Times-Picayune on Monday night.
ESPN first reported the news.
LSU announced the hiring with a tweet later Monday night.
Earlier reports on Monday said Wade was offered a six-year, $12 million deal to coach at his alma mater Clemson before Clemson publicly said coach Brad Brownell would return for the 2017-18 season.
Sources told The Times-Picayune that Wade's salary at LSU will be in the ballpark of the Clemson offer.
A source close to Wade also said Wade believes LSU could be the second-best job in the SEC behind Kentucky in part because LSU is the only Power 5 program in the state.
Wade, 34, led the Rams to the NCAA Tournament in both years as the VCU coach. VCU went 25-11 in 2015-16 and made the Round of 32 as the No. 10 seed. The Rams were once again a No. 10 seed in this year's tournament but lost to Saint Mary's in the first round. VCU finished 26-9.
Wade had also been linked to the opening at N.C. State before the Wolfpack ultimately went with UNC-Wilmington head coach Kevin Keatts. Wade has spent four seasons as a head coach after taking over Chattanooga in 2013-14 when he went 18-15 in his first season and then 22-10 after that before he took the job at VCU.
Prior to taking the job with Chattanooga, Wade was an assistant at Harvard under Tommy Amaker from 2007-09 and at VCU under Shaka Smart from 2009-13.
VCU has become a launching pad to Power 5 conference jobs in the last decade or so. Wade becomes the fourth consecutive coach to leave the Rams for a bigger job. Jeff Capel went to Oklahoma in 2006, Anthony Grant went to Alabama in 2009 and Smart left for Texas in 2015.
Wade was hired back to VCU as head coach after Smart left.
Wade is taking over for Johnny Jones who was officially fired by LSU on March 10 after the Tigers went 10-21 this season and set a program record for consecutive losses with 15.
Jones went 90-72 in his time at LSU and only made one NCAA Tournament but fans have been restless since the Tigers finished 19-14 in 2015-16 despite having Ben Simmons, the top pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.
"I learned that the word 'fit' is a joke," Alleva said during the press conference to announce Jones' firing. "What's a fit? If you looked at Johnny Jones, you would've thought he was the perfect fit. I'm looking for a proven winner. Someone that's won and has some experience in the business and that can bring enthusiasm and passion to the program. Not saying Johnny didn't do that.
"This is kind of like a marriage. There's a lot of marriages when they start, you think it's a perfect marriage but it doesn't work out. That's all this is. It just didn't work out. So, what I'm looking for is a proven winner."
In four years as a head coach, Wade is 91-45 (.669) overall and 55-15 (.786) in conference play.