Nate Oats, the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Alabama, has his longtime wife, Crystal Oats, by his side through thick and thin, supporting him in every step.
Nate Oats, Alabama’s head basketball coach, first met his wife Crystal at Maranatha Baptist University, a Division III Bible college in Watertown, Wisconsin, where they both graduated.
In an interview, Nate stated that his wife Crystal was on the volleyball team, and he was on the basketball team, and the couple shared gyms while attending Maranatha Baptist College.
Similarly, Nate humorously stated, “She just kept hitting on me,” to which Crystal replied, “That’s so not true he chased me.”
The couple married in December 1997, the same year Nate began his coaching career as an assistant at their alma mater.
Nate and Crystal Oats went to the Bahamas for their honeymoon.
For over 27 years, Crystal Oats has been a wonderful wife, supporting Nate in his career and off-court life.
Crystal Girton Oats was born on September 28, 1974, and grew up in Jackson, Mississippi.
According to reports, Crystal is a nurse; however, despite being the wife of a renowned American coach, she prefers to maintain a low profile and hasn’t shared mch about her profession.
Nate Oats’ wife, Crystal Oats, was diagnosed with a rare cancer at the age of 41!
While Nate Oats thrived in his coaching career, starting as head coach at Buffalo in 2015, his wife Crystal began to experience changes in her body, including a sore throat.
Crystal, being a nurse herself, went to get things checked out by an ENT doctor, and the doctor said she had mono. Unfortunately, a CAT scan revealed that he had lymphoma.
Crystal suffered a rare cancer, a double hit non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, at the age of 41.
Nate took to his Facebook to announce the news of his wife Crystal’s health condition.
He wrote,
“Crystal is the strongest woman I know. She’s been there with me every step of the way on my adult journey through life. This Dec. 20 we will have been married 18 years, and I can honestly say I know she’s exactly what I’ve needed for a wife. She’s everything to me and we will fight this battle together. This type of lymphoma is an aggressive type and requires an extremely strong regimen of chemotherapy over the next 5-6 months. Life just got real for us in a way I never could have imagined.”
Heavy
Similarly, Crystal began aggressive chemotherapy after announcing his wife’s diagnosis, and Nate decided to put a pause on his coaching career to focus on his wife’s health.
However, Crytal didn’t let Nate take that decision; instead started traveling with the team when possible.
In an interview, Crystal said she didn’t want Nate not to coach because she enjoyed it as much as he did, so she traveled a bit, which made her feel like a normal person and not somebody who had cancer, which eventually helped her recover.
The Buffalo team started a GoFundMe campaign for Nate and Crystal, which raised over $13,000, exceeding the goal of $12,500.
Thankfully, Crystal’s PET Scans revealed that her tumors were gone, and she underwent a bone marrow transplant in 2016.
The couple now live a happy and adventurous life with their three daughters, Lexie, Jocie, and Brielle.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Nats Oats was born to Nathanael Justin Oats on October 13, 1974, in Watertown, Wisconsin, United States, to father Collen O’Neil and mother Larry.
- He graduated with his bachelor’s degree in math education from Maranatha Baptist and earned his master’s degree of science in Kinesiology and exercise from Wisconsin in 1999.
