The school already boasting two of the biggest public opinion lightning rods in college sports has completed its trifecta.
Already possessing head football coach Lane Kiffin and women’s head basketball coach Kim Mulkey, LSU re-hired a men’s head basketball coach it fired four years ago for NCAA recruiting violations.
Will Wade, who has been in successful survival orbit since the LSU canned him in March 2022 as a human sacrifice to avoid serious sanctions for its cash-cow football program, confirmed in social media just before noon Thursday that he was leaving North Carolina State after one season to run it back with the Tigers.
Immediately, the level of hate from coast-to-coast for LSU sports just raised a couple of notches.
Ain’t it grand?
The immediate reaction of the sanctimonious national media was predictable.
Harump! Isn’t this the school that mouthy hussy Mulkey in April 2021?
Harump! Also, aren’t they the heartless orbs that stole Kiffin from Ole Miss this past December, just a few weeks before the Rebels made the college football playoffs for the first time?
Harump! And now they’re hiring Wade, who was heard on an FBI wiretap talking about “a strong ass offer” he made to allegedly buy a recruit?
Harump? Does LSU possess any morals about the way it does business?
Well, no.
It also had no college football playoff appearances in four seasons under former coach Brian Kelly, and didn’t sniff an NCAA Tournament invite in five seasons under Wade’s replacement and then predecessor Matt McMahon.
These days in college athletics, morals don’t rank high. It’s not even in “other receiving votes.”
If you want to win, there are no rules. You hire the person who not only can do that but also is attractive enough for NIL donors to open their wallets to buy players.
Just a quick reminder about Wade, who in 12 years as a head coach (Chattanooga, VCU, LSU, McNeese and North Carolina State) has never had a losing season while winning almost 70 percent of his games and earning eight NCAA Tournament bids in the last nine seasons (not counting the COVID-canceled 2020 postseason).
From 2017 to 2022 with the Tigers, he was 105-51 overall and 55-33 in the SEC. In the last four seasons, he won 48 regular-season SEC games, tying for the second-most of any league team over that period.
His tenure was the last time the Tigers’ program had a pulse and a palpable vibe. His 2018-19 team won the SEC regular championship and advanced to the Sweet 16. He had three 20-win seasons in his last four years.
Yes, he illegally bought players, probably at bargain-basement prices compared to now when athletes annually hold their head coaches for ransom.
But he purchased players with more talent illegally than the just-fired McMahon did legally. Four of them – Naz Reid, Cam Thomas, Tari Eason and Trendon Watford – are still in the NBA.
More than that, he coached with visible and genuine passion.
His players knew he always had their backs. The LSU fan base loved the way he never backed down from a fight.
In comparison, McMahon was almost invisible. That’s not a criticism. It’s just who he was, a low-key controlled guy, which didn’t fit well.
Neither did his 60-70 (46.2 percent) overall record, including 17-55 (23.6 percent) in the SEC.
In the end, it didn’t matter that the built-in excuses for McMahon of a lack of NIL money and injuries to key players were enough to overlook back-to-back 3-15 SEC records the last two seasons.
Meanwhile, Wade was 50-9 in two years at McNeese from 2023-25 and 20-14 this past season at NC State.
Truth be told, LSU should have hired Wade after last season. One of his final images as McNeese’s coach was hugging then-McNeese president Wade Rousse and athletic director Heath Schroyer.
At that time, those pieces weren’t in place for Wade to return to LSU.
Now, they are. Rousse was named LSU’s new president in early November. Schroyer, just a couple hours ahead of Wade officially announcing he’s reclaiming his Tigers’ hoop throne, said he has been hired as an LSU senior deputy athletic director.
It wasn’t long after that that Wade went to social media to finally confirm the lingering, poorly kept secret. He agreed to a 7-year, $30 million deal with a roster budget commitment exceeding $12 million.
“It’s a chance to go home to a place that means a great deal to me and my family,” Wade tweeted. “The opportunity to return to Louisiana State University is deeply personal.”
Of course, it is. Wade never should have been fired in the first place. He’s coming back to finish the job he started.