On Tuesday night, Will Wade sat in a room with NC State athletics staff for two hours and talked about the future of Wolfpack basketball. He was engaged. He was committed. He gave no indication that anything was wrong.
Twenty-four hours later, his agent sent an email.
That’s how Boo Corrigan found out his basketball coach was gone.
Blindsided by Wade’s Exit
NC State AD Boo Corrigan on Will Wade 👀
"Tuesday night, we talked about everything in the program… I asked him what we needed to be competitive. From there, as far as the resignation, it was an email that we received from his agent."
"I'd commiserate with (fans), in terms of… pic.twitter.com/C3J73sGBlv
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 26, 2026
Corrigan stepped to the podium Thursday carrying the particular exhaustion of a man who had been lied to and knew it, but was too professional to say so directly. He didn’t have to. It was written across every word he chose.
“There was no reason for me in my job not to believe the words that I was hearing coming back to me from coach Wade,” he said. “I was as surprised and shocked as anyone else.”
He had believed Wade. Watched him stand at the ACC Tournament two weeks earlier and say, “To be very clear, I’m excited at NC State.” Sat through two hours of program discussions Tuesday with a coach who gave no hint he was already halfway out the door.
Then Wednesday came. An email, from a middleman, after the fact. Wade also no-showed a scheduled meeting with Corrigan that day. Their last actual conversation came Wednesday afternoon, after the resignation was already done.
“I believed he was telling me his true intentions,” Corrigan said. “I’m disappointed for our athletic department. I’m disappointed for our fans, and I’m disappointed for our university that we’re here today.”
What Was Really Happening Tuesday Night
While Wade was reassuring NC State staff, LSU brass were making their move.
According to CBS Sports, Tiger leadership had “seriously approached” Wade that same evening. Wade reportedly turned around and asked NC State for a significant pay increase and a major NIL funding bump. The school declined.
The two-hour meeting, the straight face, the reassurances — all of it unfolded while Wade was already weighing his exit. He just hadn’t told anyone yet.
“The Wolfpack Ain’t for Soft People”
NC State AD Boo Corrigan's opening statement on Will Wade's sudden departure 👀
"I think Philip Rivers said it… the Wolfpack ain't for soft people. We're gonna go find a coach that agrees and understands who we are and what we are."
🎥: @InsidePackSport pic.twitter.com/0oKw4e1BUa
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 26, 2026
NC State settled on a $4 million buyout, below the scheduled $5 million, but above the $3 million it would have dropped to after April 1. Corrigan was direct about the calculus: getting a head start on the search was worth the difference.
Then he said what the fanbase needed to hear.
“In thinking about who we are and what we are. The Wolfpack ain’t for soft people. We’re going to go find a coach who understands who we are and what we are.”
He made clear the program isn’t looking for another tourist.
“We don’t want to be a stepping stone on the way to another job. We thought we had that right — in every conversation, every release, everything that was out there.” He paused. “So we’re going to go out and find someone again.”
One Year. Twenty Wins. Gone.
Wade arrived one year ago, almost to the day, on March 25, 2025. He promised NC State fans a “reckoning for college basketball” and posed in front of Jimmy V’s statue. He went 20-14, lost to Texas in the First Four, and after the final buzzer declared, “This will be the worst team we have at NC State, right here. This is the floor of our program.”
He wasn’t wrong. He just wouldn’t be around to build off it.
On Thursday, Wade posted that his return to LSU was “deeply personal — a chance to go home.” For NC State, it was confirmation they were never really the destination.
Where Does NC State Go From Here?
The search is underway. The portal opens April 7. Corrigan’s message to whoever comes next was simple: this program is not a layover.
“It’s important that we close this era,” he said. “They get to build on what occurred.”
A year ago, NC State thought they had their guy. It ended in an email from an agent.
The Wolfpack are searching again.
