Ex-LSU men's hoops coach Will Wade hired at McNeese State

Former LSU coach Will Wade will be the next head coach at McNeese State, the school announced Sunday.

A news conference to introduce Wade is scheduled for Monday.

«I'm so excited to welcome Coach Wade, his wife Lauren and daughter Caroline to Southwest Louisiana and McNeese!» athletic director Heath Schroyer said. «This is a completely different job than it was three years ago. McNeese Basketball is one of the best jobs in the nation in regards to one-bid leagues. We are funded at the top of the league, have the best facility, a passionate fan base and many other built-in advantages. I will not make excuses for why we can't win and win big. Quite frankly, there is no excuse.

»The days of us celebrating making conference tournaments or accepting mediocrity in all of our sports, let alone in basketball, are over."

Wade had been eager to return to coaching, sources told ESPN, and McNeese State had been laying the groundwork to hire Wade for weeks.

Wade, 40, spent five seasons in Baton Rouge, guiding LSU to three straight NCAA tournament appearances to end his tenure. The Tigers won the SEC regular-season title in 2019 and finished in the top three of the league three times.

Before taking over at LSU, Wade spent two seasons as the head coach at VCU, going to the NCAA tournament both years, and two seasons at Chattanooga, where he finished second in the Southern Conference both seasons. Wade began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Clemson before spending time on coaching staffs at Harvard and VCU .

LSU fired Wade on the eve of the NCAA tournament just over a year ago after the school received a notice of allegations from the NCAA detailing five Level I violations and a Level II violation involving Wade. He was