Alabama men's basketball head coach Nate Oats, who earns an annual salary of $7.25 million, has remarried and re-hired his wife, Alex Accetta, as the director of program relations for the team. Oats, 51, and Accetta, 31, were married in July, with the news first shared by assistant coach Brian Adams on Instagram. Accetta had previously worked as a staffer under Oats at Alabama before leaving in October 2022 to join the Dallas Mavericks organization.
Accetta's return to the University of Alabama was announced on Thursday. She had initially joined the men's basketball office as a student assistant in 2015 while pursuing her degree in business management. After graduating, she became director of basketball operations and held that role when Oats was named head coach in March 2019. She worked under Oats until her departure in 2022, managing budgets and scheduling.
Oats' marriage to Accetta comes after his quiet divorce in 2023 from his first wife, Crystal, whom he was married to for 26 years. The couple shares three daughters: Lexie, Jocelyn, and Brielle. Crystal Oats had previously battled and overcome an aggressive form of lymphoma in 2015.
Oats publicly confirmed his relationship with Accetta, who is 20 years his junior, in April during a SiriusXM radio interview. He spoke about a Knicks playoff game at Madison Square Garden, recalling how he considered his coaching opportunity at Alabama while with his then-fiancée, Alex. In 2021, Oats was named SEC Coach of the Year and led the Crimson Tide to an SEC tournament victory. In April, he signed a six-year contract extension with the University of Alabama, increasing his annual salary to $7.25 million.
