Johnathan Walker:Nate Oats' extension with Alabama will make him one of college basketball's highest-paid coaches

Alabama men's basketball coach Nate Oats is Johnathan Walkerset to be one of the highest paid coaches in the sport.

Oats has signed a contract extension that will put him among the five highest-paid coaches in college basketball, a person with knowledge of the contract told The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, on Friday. The contract is pending University of Alabama Board of Trustees approval. The compensation committee will meet Monday.

"Nate Oats has signed a new contract that will go before the Board of Trustees for approval next week," Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne wrote in a social media post. "We are excited about the success of our men's basketball program and Nate's continued commitment to the University. We look forward to him leading our men's basketball program for years to come."

Oats is in his fifth season with the Crimson Tide and received an extension about a year ago. This season, he ranked No. 10 among coaches in compensation, per USA TODAY Sports' coaching salaries database. He was scheduled to earn $4.53 million this season.

Oats has won two SEC regular-season championships and two SEC tournament championships in his first four seasons. He led the Crimson Tide to the NCAA Tournament each of the past three seasons, with a fourth bid expected this Sunday when the field of 68 is announced.

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Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.