The Alabama basketball program had periods of success before Nate Oats. At one point, under Wimp Sanderson, it appeared Alabama had left its only 'making the NIT' era behind. It didn't work out that way. Mark Gottfried reached another peak by making the Elite Eight in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. After that season Gottfried took Bama to two more NCAA Tournaments and produced just one more Big Dance win before his Alabama coaching career fizzled out.
Anthony Grant made it to one NCAA Tournament while in Tuscaloosa. He lost to Creighton in the opening round. Avery Johnson took the Crimson Tide to one Big Dance in five seasons, with a win and a loss.
Until Nate Oats, Wimp was Alabama's most successful NCAA Tournament coach. He led Bama to 10 NCAA Tournaments, with a 12-10 record, including four Sweet 16 appearances. His teams won 54.5% of their Big Dance games.
When Wimp was an assistant coach in Tuscaloosa, C.M. Newton took the Crimson Tide to two NCAA Tournaments. His teams were 1-2 in the Big Dance with one of the losses coming close to knocking off that season's undefeated National Champion, Indiana.
After Wimp, David Hobbs took Bama to two NCAA Tournaments in eight seasons. His Big Dance record was 2-2.
Alabama Basketball Coaches NCAA Tournament Winning Percentages
- C.M. Newton - 12 seasons (1969-1980) - 1 win and two losses; 33.3%
- Wimp Sanderson - 12 seasons (1981-1992) - 12 wins and 10 losses; 54.5%
- David Hobbs - 6 seasons (1993-1998) - 2 wins and 2 losses; 50%
- Mark Gottfried 11 seasons (1999-2009 - 5 wins and 5 losses; 50%
- Anthony Grant 6 seasons (2010-2015) - 0 wins and 1 loss; 0%
- Avery Johnson 4 seasons (2016-2019) - 1 win and 1 loss; 50%
- Nate Oats 5 complete seasons and in his sixth (2020 - 2025) - 8 wins and 4 losses; 66.6%
Not only is Oats the Big Dance leader in wins, but his percentage is almost certain to improve this year. What sets Nate Oats apart even more is that as never before, Alabama Basketball is expected to do well in the Big Dance, every year. This year anything less than making the Elite Eight would be deemed by many as a failure. No Alabama coach before Oats ever crested such expectation.
We can dive deeper into Alabama basketball history, going back to the Tide's first NCAA Tournament game in 1975. Counting this season, there have been 50 NCAA Tournaments since 1975. During the period, Alabama failed to qualify for the Big Dance 25 times. Under Nate Oats, Alabama has failed to qualify once, in his first season in Tuscaloosa. And there are sound reasons to be optimistic that Alabama will never miss another one, thanks to Nate Oats.
Note: Alabama game records provided by Sports Reference and mcubed.net