The N.C.A.A. decision brings to an end a drama that began more than four years ago when Yahoo reported on a federal wiretap that had captured Wade saying he’d made “a strong-ass offer” to Javonte Smart, who played at L.S.U. and then briefly in the N.B.A.
Wade was suspended for the 2019 N.C.A.A. tournament after he refused to speak with L.S.U., but reinstated a month later. “You need evidence to ruin somebody’s career,” F. King Alexander, the former L.S.U. president, told The New York Times last year, adding: “Presidents have to follow due process rights. Was he paying players? In my gut, I’d say, yeah, but my gut doesn’t do very well in a jury trial.”
Ultimately, though, Wade was fired just before the 2022 N.C.A.A. tournament, when L.S.U. was given a notice of the allegations by the N.C.A.A.
He was hired one year and one day later at McNeese State, which became the latest school to bring buzz to a lifeless program by hiring a coach who had been swept up in a federal corruption sting. Iona had enlisted Rick Pitino, and Xavier brought in Sean Miller for a second tenure there after his run ended at Arizona. Pitino has since moved on to St. John’s.
The day after McNeese State hired Wade, it announced that he would serve a five-game suspension. There was little disappointment on Thursday from the school, which is tucked away in Lake Charles, La., in the southwestern corner of the state.
The athletic director, Heath Schroyer, did not return a phone message, but he said in a statement that his school, which has not had a winning record in men’s basketball since the 2011-12 season, accepted the decision and was ready to move forward.
“The enthusiasm around this program is at an all-time high,” he said. “And we are all excited about the future of McNeese Basketball with coach leading the way.”
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