Nate Oats is a married man again.
The Alabama Crimson Tide head coach, 51, married his 31-year-old fiancee, Alex Accetta, in a ceremony last weekend. Accetta previously served as Alabama basketball's director of operations. Oats, who was previously married, went through a quiet divorce.
Oats had revealed that he was engaged in April, during an appearance on SiriusXM Radio.
“Me and Alex, my fiancee now, she was my girlfriend at the time, we were at a Knicks playoff game, and I’m sitting there at (Madison Square) Garden,” Oats said. “I’m like, ‘Hold on.’ I’m a high school coach and I got an opportunity to coach in here, and I’m gonna say no?”
Accetta was an Alabama staffer until 2022, when she took a job with the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. Oats and his former wife, Crystal, quietly got divorced in 2023. Crystal was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in 2015, but was declared cancer free in 2016 and she has remained in remission.
Attendance at the wedding included Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne and a host of UA staffers.
The bride's father posted an emotional message on Instagram.
"Yesterday was a very emotional day for me. It has been a privilege to be @alex_accetta dad since the day she was born. I have absolutely loved being her daddy and her hero. Yesterday I let go of that role as she married the perfect man for her. I am overjoyed to welcome @nateoats to our family. There is no better feeling a dad can have to know his little girl is with the man who will make all her dreams come true!" she wrote.
Oats signed a six-year extension with Alabama in April
“I am blessed and honored for the opportunity to continue as the head coach of the men’s basketball program at the University of Alabama,” Oats said in a statement after signing the deal. “President Mohler, Chancellor Trant, the entire Board of Trustees and our athletics director Greg Byrne have been tremendously supportive and provided us the resources to compete for championships each and every year. We have enjoyed tremendous success during our seven years at Alabama, and we look forward to building on that for many years to come.”
