Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats marries former hoops staffer 20 years his junior following divorce

Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats marries former hoops staffer 20 years his junior following divorce

Valentine’s Day may be long gone, but love is definitely in the air.

Alabama head basketball coach Nate Oats, 51, and former staffer Alex Accetta, 31, tied the knot last weekend in a ceremony attended by several Crimson Tide coaches as well as athletic director Greg Byrne.

Accetta worked as the team’s director of operations before leaving for a role with the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks in guest experience and operations.

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Alabama basketball head coach Nate Oats takes questions at his press conference, Monday, Jan. 16, 2023, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

Oats revealed that he and Accetta were engaged back in April.

The wedding comes after a quiet divorce between the Alabama basketball coach and his ex-wife, Crystal Oats, back in 2023.

The two were wed in 1997 and remained married for 26 years while raising three children together before Crystal was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lymphoma back in 2015.

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Fortunately, the cancer went into remission and Crystal remains cancer-free.

Oats has been one of the most successful coaches in Alabama basketball history, guiding the team to six straight NCAA Tournament appearances while going 170-73 in just seven seasons in Tuscaloosa.

His 13 wins in the tournament are the most in program history.

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Head coach Nate Oats walks off the court

Head coach Nate Oats of the Alabama Crimson Tide walks off the court at halftime against the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena on February 15, 2023 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

Despite this, Oats has been the subject of heavy criticism on the internet in 2026.

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His opening of the eligibility floodgates by signing NBA G-League player Charles Bediako was nearly universally panned by basketball fans all over the country.

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Charles Bediako reacts on court

Charles Bediako of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts during the second half in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at KFC YUM! Center against the San Diego State Aztecs on March 24, 2023 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Bediako would go on to lose his appeal in court, having only played five games for the Crimson Tide before his temporary restraining order expired.

Given the circumstances of his wedding to a former staffer as well as the cancer diagnosis of his ex-wife, many are piling back on Oats as the news broke of his nuptials while others are defending him given the fact that Accetta is no longer employed by the university.

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