Boo Corrigan Addresses Will Wade's NC State Exit
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RALEIGH — The news of Will Wade's departure from NC State after just one season as the men's basketball coach rocked the Wolfpack community. Athletic director Boo Corrigan addressed the media following the official news of Wade's move to LSU on Thursday, laying out what happened over the last few days and where NC State will go from here.
Corrigan didn't pull many punches when discussing the coach he brought in with the purpose of uplifting Wolfpack men's basketball to a point it hadn't been at since the days of Jim Valvano or Norm Sloan. The athletic director provided his timeline of events, as well as his reaction to the news that Wade was bolting after his many bold proclamations for the future of the Pack.
The timeline
The situation escalated fast and furiously. Going back to the ACC Tournament, Corrigan believed Wade put the LSU rumors to rest when he stated he wanted to "win big at NC State," but those turned out to be shallow promises. The athletic director offered a window into what transpired over the last 48 hours in regards to meeting with Wade.
"There were a number of different conversations that had occurred over the past year involving our program, involving everything else in the landscape of college sports, including Tuesday evening for two hours to talk about the entire program and scheduling and the players and staff and everything that goes into that," Corrigan said. "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."
— Will Wade (@CoachWadeNCSU) March 26, 2026
According to Corrigan, there was no strong indication that Wade was going to leave after the lengthy conversation on Tuesday, but the rumors persisted. However, the rumors started to turn into more fire than smoke, prompting the NC State athletic department to engage in more conversations with Wade. The resignation finally came on Wednesday morning. By Thursday, it was official. Wade was gone.
"As I came into work. Again, you're aware of rumor and innuendo, but I don't know if you all know this or not, but the internet has a lot of rumors and innuendo on it," Corrigan said. "As we looked at that, it became apparent that this could be a potential outcome and at that point in time, we engaged in conversations.
The email
The Tuesday conversations were productive from Corrigan's point of view. Wade still seemed committed to NC State at that point, but there were more nefarious forces at play from Baton Rouge, quietly wooing the coach back to a program that fired him four years ago.
"We talked about everything in the program and what we can do ... We talked about last year's team and who was going to be back," Corrigan explained. "I asked him what he needed. What do we need to be competitive? From there, as far as a resignation letter, it was an email that we received from his agent in talking to his agent."
Corrigan last spoke to Wade at noon on Wednesday. The athletic director was asked about his reaction to receiving an email with his letter of resignation rather than a face-to-face meeting, something Wade went out of his way to do when NC State was courting him for the job a year ago.
"I'm a handshake guy, you know?" Corrigan said. "I'd rather shake someone's hand and say, 'Are we good? Are you staying? Are we good on the numbers? Are we good on everything?'... So yeah, sure I would've. It would have meant more to me, but I'm kind of a dinosaur in some respects for what's going on today. That maybe was the most efficient way to do it ... We were not going to come forward with a press conference until we knew exactly what the situation was."
Backroom dealings?
This isn't the first time in the last year that LSU has engaged in some clumsy courtship of a head coach already employed by another program. The school made waves when Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry got involved in hiring Lane Kiffin away from Ole Miss, which sparked a vitriolic reaction on a nationwide scale after rumors of backchannel communication and deceit defined the process. Corrigan was asked if he thought Wade had talked to LSU before the end of NC State's season.
"I think that’s a question you need to ask LSU, and you need to ask coach Wade. I've got my own thoughts on where we are," the Wolfpack AD said. "I know that the number of times we had conversations about the job, including one time where it was, ‘Do we need to talk about this?’ and the answer was no. ... After the NCAA Tournament, there was another confirmation (From Wade)."
Not for soft people
Perhaps the most telling part of Corrigan's lengthy press conference was the opening line. The athletic director could've started things more officially, but he offered a message to the NC State community instead.
“I think Philip Rivers said it in thinking about who we are and what we are, the Wolfpack ain’t for soft people," Corrigan said. "We’re going to go find a coach that agrees and understands who we are and what we are. For the past seven years, we’ve built a culture in the athletic department based on trust and accountability. We’ve got coaches that want to be at NC State. They want to be a part of who we are and what we are and represent this great university.”
Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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