Why Will Wade’s Ivy League Roots Still Matter at NC State

RALEIGH — Long before he became the head coach of the NC State men's basketball program, Will Wade had more humble aspirations.

"My degree is secondary education, history and geography. I was going to be a high school history teacher," Wade said at ACC Tipoff.

While studying at Clemson, Wade worked as a student manager and realized coaching might be in the cards. In 2007, he joined Tommy Amaker's staff at Harvard, one of the most prestigious schools in the country and the world. An academic school for an academic coach. Despite spending just two seasons with Amaker in Boston, the Ivy League helped Wade grow as a young coach.

A Basketball League?

Wade, only in his mid-20s, was one of the original members of Amaker's first staff at Harvard. Given his youth and outgoing personality, he was the perfect person to help build a recruiting class for the Crimson moving forward. Recruiting in the Ivy League isn't easy, as the conference utilizes an "Academic Index" to maintain its significant academic standards.

Despite only staying for a pair of seasons, Wade did some of his best recruiting with the Crimson when comparing the school to the level of talent he added. He helped Amaker turn Harvard into the class of the Ivy League on the hardwood throughout the early 2010s.

Ivy League — Mar 22, 2025; Providence, RI, USA; McNeese State Cowboys head coach Will Wade during the second half of a second round men’s NCAA Tournament game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Some of Wade's recruits helped lead Harvard to a league championship in the 2010-11 season, but he had already moved on and become a member of the VCU staff under Shaka Smart. When asked about his time in the Ivy League, Wade was honest, as he always is.

"I don't know if you've ever made that bus ride on Friday night between Cornell and Columbia, but it's a long ride. It ain't fun. And you're not on sleeper buses," he said. "It's a bear of a league."

From the Ivy to the ACC

Mar 26, 2025; San Francisco, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal men’s basketball head coach Kyle Smith during NCAA Tournament West Regional Practice at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

After a Final Four appearance as an assistant at VCU, a stint in the SEC before a recruiting investigation and 16 long years, Wade landed in the ACC with the Pack. However, he wasn't the only ex-Ivy League coach to join the conference. Stanford's Kyle Smith coached at Columbia University from 2010 to 2016. Smith, like Wade, shared a similar sentiment as to how the Ivy League prepared him for the power conference world.

"I think the Ivy League was my best 'Colony of Coaches,' if you will, as far as preparing you," Smith said. "A, the recruiting was incredible because you're going after those little guys... And then every night you have back-to-back games."

Nov 15, 2013; East Lansing, MI, USA; Columbia Lions head coach Kyle Smith reacts to a play during the 2nd half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. MSU won 62-53. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-Imagn Images | Mike Carter-Imagn Images

Smith added that many of the assistants he dealt with on other teams and his own were Ivy League graduates. The league has insulated itself with smart and talented individuals, like Wade during his time with the Crimson, and in turn, pumps out talented coaches like Smith and Wade. The Wolfpack's leader had nothing but respect for what Smith did at Columbia.

"Kyle is a good coach because he won at Columbia. And I don't know if you know how hard it is to win at Columbia, but I think the only job in the Ivy League that's harder than Columbia is probably Dartmouth," Wade said. "Just because Dartmouth's Columbia and the woods in New Hampshire. At least Columbia's in Harlem."

Blending In

Mar 22, 2025; Providence, RI, USA; McNeese State Cowboys head coach Will Wade during the first half of a second round men’s NCAA Tournament game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

After coaching at San Francisco and Washington State following his Columbia days, Smith landed at another academically strong university in Stanford. Wade has seen it all since leaving Harvard. Stints at Chattanooga, VCU, LSU and McNeese were all very different.

With the Tigers in Baton Rouge, Wade learned how to be a power conference coach. He recruited successfully, although breaking the rules of the time ended with him being exiled from the power conference ranks before reemerging with McNeese and getting back to basics as a coach.

The Ivy League, as described by both Smith and Wade, was a coach's league. Even now, many of the programs in the conference are led by elite head coaches. While maybe not the same 'secret sauce' of VCU described by Ryan Odom, Virginia's head coach, it's clear that the intelligence of Wade and Smith mixed with their time in the Ivy League helped them get to the ACC.

In 2025, Wade is a long way from being a history teacher and Smith a long way from Columbia.

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