Will Wade Defends Abrupt NC State Exit, Deflects Criticism With Jokes in LSU Return Press Conference

In a joke-filled introductory press conference, Wade addressed both his controversial NC State exit as well as his tumultuous first tenure at LSU.

Wade previously spent five seasons as head men's basketball coach at LSU from 2017-22. | Reagan Cotten/LSU Athletics/Getty Images

One thing is for sure: Will Wade's introductory press conference in his tumultuous return as LSU men's basketball coach certainly didn't disappoint. For roughly 30 minutes, a somewhat-defiant, somewhat-unbothered Wade cracked jokes about his controversy-filled previous tenure as Tigers coach, promised to win—and win some more—and addressed his abrupt exit from NC State. He spent one season with the Wolfpack and angered the school's fan base while leaving athletic director Boo Corrigan “disappointed” after indicating he wasn't leaving the program while speculation about LSU lingered in the air throughout the season.

That speculation became reality on March 26, when Wade took to X and announced he was leaving the Wolfpack for the Tigers, with whom he had spent five rocky seasons from 2017 to ‘22, highlighted by three trips to the NCAA tournament, one suspension, and one NCAA probe that ultimately slapped LSU with sanctions and led to his firing in 2022.

“Make no mistake, this is home. I wasn't born in Louisiana, but Louisiana's home for me and my family. ... we're coming back to make history, we're going to make history one way or the other," Wade said Monday at his introductory press conference inside Pete Maravich Assembly Center. "We're coming back to try to hang a banner and win a national championship, or I'm going to be the first coach fired from the same school twice. One way or another, we're going to make history.”

Why did LSU fire Will Wade?

Wade went 108-54, secured three NCAA tournament trips, won an SEC regular season championship and coached multiple NBA-bound players during his five years in Baton Rouge. But his tenure was marked by two scandals, the first involving FBI wiretaps which intercepted 2017 phone calls between he and aspiring business manager Christian Dawkins, whom Wade could be heard discussing a “strong-ass offer” for a potential recruit. The FBI was monitoring Dawkins's cell phone as part of an investigation into corruption in college basketball.

LSU in 2019 suspended Wade indefinitely just a day after reports of the wiretapped conversation emerged. He missed the conference and NCAA tournaments that year. In what would later become an important distinction, Wade, as part of his reinstatement back in 2019, agreed to a revised contract that included a stipulation allowing the university to fire him with cause if he was found to have committed Level I or Level II NCAA violations.

Just three years later, Wade led the Tigers to the NCAA tournament for the third time, but for the second time, he would be unable to coach the Tigers. An NCAA probe into LSU's athletics department uncovered eight Level I violations, five of which were tied to Wade. He was also accused of one Level II violation.

According to documents, Wade “arranged for, offered and/or provided impermissible payments, including cash payments, to at least 11 men's basketball prospective student-athletes, their family members, individuals associated with the prospects and/or nonscholastic coaches in exchange for the prospects' enrollment at LSU.” Wade was also accused of providing cash payments to the former fiancée of a student-athlete so as to buy her silence when it came to her knowledge of prior inducements to student athletes.

LSU fired Wade in March 2022.

Wade spent two seasons at mid-major McNeese, whom he led to two conference tournament championships and consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. In 2025 he led the 12th-seeded Cowboys to a first-round upset over No. 5 seed Clemson.

Wade parlayed his success with the Cowboys into a return to power conference basketball with NC State, though buzz connecting him to LSU seemingly followed him throughout the year, even as he led the Wolfpack to a 20-14 record and an appearance in the NCAA tournament.

The Tigers, meanwhile, were getting their ducks in a row, hiring former McNeese president Wade Rousse for the same role in November 2025. Ex-McNeese athletic director Heath Schroyer was hired as a senior administrator earlier this week.

Will Wade commits to NC State, later does an about-face

Following the Wolfpack's loss to Virginia in the ACC tournament quarterfinals earlier in March, Wade was asked about the “gossip” and rumors connecting him to a potential return to LSU. His response seemed to indicate he wasn't going anywhere.

“I’m not on social media, I’m not into the gossip, I’m not into any of that sort of stuff, but we’re gonna win and we’re going to win big at NC State,” Wade said. “That’s what we’re gonna do moving forward and we have the resources we need.”

After NC State's First Four loss in the tourney, Wade again sounded like a man who was sticking around, as he labeled the 2025-26 Wolfpack's success as the “floor” for his tenure.

Two weeks later, Wade had left town for LSU.

His abrupt departure infuriated fans and left Wolfpack athletic director Boo Corrigan feeling as if he was stabbed in the back. On the same day as Wade's announced departure, Corrigan, in a news conference, said he was “surprised” by Wade's decision to return to LSU and told reporters that Wade had expressed his desire to remain with the Wolfpack as recently as Tuesday.

“There was no reason for me in my job not to believe the words that I was hearing coming back to me from Coach Wade…” Corrigan said. “I was as surprised, as shocked as anyone else as this occurred based on the previous conversations that we’d had.

“I believed he was telling me his true intentions. I’m disappointed for our athletic department, I’m disappointed for our fans, and I’m disappointed for our university that we’re here today.”

Corrigan said Wade no-showed a scheduled meeting between the two on Wednesday and added that he learned of Wade's decision to leave via an email from Wade's agent.

Wade deflects criticism on his exit from NC State

Wade on Monday said he believed the events of his departure had been “mischaracterized.”

“I'd like to focus more on what's going on at LSU. NC State was great to me," Wade said. "I think some of the things have been mischaracterized on how I left, but I'm not gonna get into a back-and-forth on all that.

"The people who need to know, know and look, when there's a situation like this, everybody 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.”

Still, Wade couldn't resist taking a swipe at Wolfpack angst with a joke.

“Look, they're pretty mad for a coach they didn't think was very good,” Wade quipped.

Wade inherits an LSU team that has missed the NCAA tournament four years running and has had three losing seasons during that span.

“I came here to win, and we’re going to win immediately,” Wade said. “LSU and Louisiana deserve a winner, and that’s what we’re going to deliver— and we’re going to deliver that in short order.”

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