Will Wade Reportedly Fired by LSU After Receiving NCAA Notice of Allegations

The LSU men's basketball team has fired head coach Will Wade, and Kevin Nickelberry will take over as the interim coach, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

The news came after the NCAA served LSU a Notice of Allegations that outlined allegations of violations within the program under Wade, which were first reported by Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated.

According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, Wade was hit with "multiple Level 1" allegations. 

The 39-year-old Wade coached at LSU for five seasons after spending two at Chattanooga and two at VCU. This year's Tigers team has gone 22-11 overall and is projected to be a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament according to Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report's latest bracketology report.

Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated, who relayed a detailed rundown of the allegations, summarized the findings against Wade:

Investigations into Wade originally stemmed from the FBI's ongoing investigation into corruption in men's college basketball. Forde provided more context when word of the NOA for LSU broke earlier this week.

"LSU officials did not acknowledge receipt of the NOA when contacted by SI on Tuesday. The NOA originated from the Complex Case Unit of the Independent Accountability Review Process—the so-called off-ramp for more complicated and contentious NCAA investigations. If coach Will Wade is charged with a major violation, he could be terminated with cause, according to a contract amendment he agreed to in April 2019. Wade’s attorney, Steve Thompson, did not immediately respond to a call from Sports Illustrated."

The most notable allegation involving Wade then was in response to comments made during a wiretapped conversation with ex-college basketball middleman Christian Dawkins regarding payments for ex-LSU guard Javonte Smart.

Forde, Thamel and Dan Wetzel, who all worked for Yahoo Sports at the time, provided the exclusive on March 7, 2019.

"Dude, I went to him with a [expletive] strong-ass offer about a month ago. [Expletive] strong."

"The problem was, I know why he didn't take it now, it was [expletive] tilted toward the family a little bit. It was tilted toward taking care of the mom, taking care of the kid. Like it was tilted towards that. Now I know for a fact he didn't explain everything to the mom. I know now, he didn't get enough of the piece of the pie in the deal."

Wade was suspended indefinitely after the report dropped, but LSU reinstated him in mid-April after meetings with school and NCAA officials. LSU athletic director Joe Alleva released this statement, per ESPN's Jeff Borzello.

"Coach Wade met Friday with University and NCAA officials. During those meetings, he answered all questions and denied any wrongdoing in connection with recently reported allegations of irregularities in college basketball recruiting."

"The University regrets that Coach Wade did not choose to fulfill his obligations to LSU when he was first asked to do so. However, the seriousness of the allegations and Coach Wade's prior refusal to refute them could not be ignored without exposing the University and basketball program to great risk. Protecting LSU and preserving our integrity must always be our first priority. Coach Wade's explanations and clarifications offered during the meeting, absent actual evidence of misconduct, satisfy his contractual obligation to LSU."

However, Wade found himself in more trouble in August. NCAA documents obtained by ESPN's Mark Schlabach stated that Wade "arranged for, offered and/or provided impermissible payments, including cash payments, to at least 11 men's basketball prospective student-athletes, their family members, individuals associated with the prospects and/or nonscholastic coaches in exchange for the prospects' enrollment at LSU."

Ultimately, Wade's LSU career ended after the Notice of Allegations. He went 108-53 in Baton Rouge and led the Tigers to the NCAA tournament on two occasions, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2019.