Alabama Head Coach Nate Oats Announces Surprise Engagement to Girlfriend Alex Accetta, 30
Alabama coach Nate Oats made a big announcement: He's engaged to girlfriend Alex Accetta, 30.
Oats, 51, dropped the big news during a radio appearance on the College Sports on Sirius XM channel. “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, according to Alabama sports writer Mike Rodak. “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 previously worked as a staffer for the men's basketball team. Alexandra Accetta's LinkedIn page confirms that she works in "guest experience" for the Dallas Mavericks now. She graduated from the University of Alabama in 2017 with a degree in Business Administration, Management and Operations, her LinkedIn page says. She turned 30 in June 2025, according to an Instagram post.
Alex Accetta, Nate Oats' Fiancee, Worked for the Alabama Men's Basketball Team, Where She Helped Manage Nate Oats' Schedule
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
A photo and bio for Accetta are posted on the Alabama men's basketball team website. However, she no longer works there. According to AL.com, "The Texas native also worked as operations coordinator under Oats until October of 2022, when she took a job with the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks."
Alex Accetta "is in her fifth year as a member of the Alabama men’s basketball full-time staff and enters her first season as the director of operations. She was promoted into her new role following the 2020-21 season after spending the previous four years as the program’s operations coordinator," according to the now-defunct bio.
Accetta "is one of six women in the Southeastern Conference who currently serves in a coach or support staff role, one of 22 across the top six leagues in collegiate basketball (ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC) and one of fewer than 50 women in the nation who are a member of a Division I men’s basketball staff," adds the bio.
"In her current role, Accetta assists with a multitude of projects throughout the year, including oversight of the men’s basketball budget, managers and graduate assistant managers, as well as the day-to-day schedules for both the team and head coach Nate Oats," the now outdated bio adds. "In addition, she handles all team travel logistics and coordination as well as ticket coordination for the program. Accetta also serves as the oversight for all men’s basketball off-court events such as Pro Day, Parents Weekend, Alabama basketball camps and guest speakers."
Accetta "was promoted into her current role after having served four years (2017-21) as the operation coordinator for the program. Among her duties while in that position were to assist the then-director of operations with team travel and logistics, assist with ticket requests for recruiting, high school coaches, and program ticket requests and helped coordinate on-campus visits, among other duties. Prior to that, she worked as a student assistant in the men’s basketball office from 2015-17," says the bio.
Accetta "comes from a basketball background, as she spent three years (2010-13) working closely with Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman, who was the head coach and assistant general manager with the Texas Legends of the NBA G-League."
Accetta, a native of Dallas, earned her degree in business management from UA and graduated in May of 2017.
Nate Oats & His Wife, Crystal Oats, Divorced in 2023
According to AL.com, Nate Oats and his wife, Crystal, divorced in 2023.
"His ex-wife, Crystal, was diagnosed with cancer when he was the head basketball coach at the University of Buffalo," The Spun reported.
In 2015, ESPN described how Nate cried when the then-couple had to tell their three small daughters about Crystal's diagnosis. At that point, they had been married for 18 years. In 2016, Crystal was declared cancer-free.
That year, Nate wrote on X, "Got Crystal's test results back. Everything came back cancer free. Will now test every 3 mos for next 2 yrs. Thanks for everyone's prayers."
Crystal Oats is on X. "Believer!! mother of three beautiful daughters. 10 year Cancer survivor," her page says. She hasn't posted much since 2023, when she filled her page with posts about the Alabama men's basketball team.
Nate Oats is on Instagram, but his posts focus on his basketball coaching career. Accetta is also on Instagram, but her page is set to private. Her photo has been shared by others on Instagram in the past. A family member's Instagram shout-out to Accetta indicates that she was a student at Alabama in 2014.