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Nate Oats has led the University of Alabama to two Southeastern Conference men's basketball tournament titles since 2019. His wife, Crystal Oats, is also a big Crimson Tide fan and has always supported Nate.
In 2015, Crystal and Nate faced a difficult time when she was diagnosed with cancer. Nate, who previously served as a top assistant to Bobby Hurley, suggested they take a break. However, Crystal decided against it.
“No. Just, no,” Crystal Oats said. “Nate is an awesome person. We have three girls, but he’s a father to so many of his players.
“For him to take a year off wouldn’t make sense. That’s what we’ve been striving for. That was our dream. For him to do that would have been heartbreaking.”
Despite battling an aggressive form of lymphoma, Crystal encouraged Nate to stay in his coaching job.
The couple has three daughters, and Crystal underwent major surgery.
What do we know about Nate Oats' wife, Crystal, and three kids?
Nate Oats was born to Larry and Collen O'Neil Oats on Oct. 13, 1974, and Crystal Oats was born to Crystal Michelle Girton on Sept. 28, 1974.
The couple met at Maranatha Baptist University, a Division III bible school in Watertown, Wisconsin, where they both studied and where Nate started his coaching career as an assistant in 1997.
Crystal grew up in Jackson, Mississippi. After her upbringing in this bustling Southern hub, Nate entered her life, and they've been happily married since December 1997. Together, the couple relocated to Watertown, Wisconsin.
The couple has three daughters: Lexie, 19; Jocie, 14; and Brielle, 11. According to the Buffalo News, Crystal is a nurse who works at a hospital.
Nate Oats' wife Crystal’s cancer battle
Crystal Oats has overcome a rare and aggressive form of cancer that affects the white blood cells. She was diagnosed with double-hit lymphoma in 2015, a condition that makes the cancer cells grow faster and resist chemotherapy.
“Crystal is the strongest woman I know. She's been there with me every step of the way on my adult journey through life,” Nate wrote on Facebook in 2015.
“This type of lymphoma is an aggressive type and requires an extremely strong regimen of chemotherapy over the next 5-6 months,” he added. “Life just got real for us in a way I never could have imagined.”
In 2016, when Nate shared the news about his wife’s rare cancer, the Buffalo community created a GoFundMe page for Crystal and raised more than $13,000 in a short time.
Oats was an assistant coach at Buffalo from 2013-15 before becoming the head coach from 2015-19. Alabama hired him in March 2019.
According to WIVB.com 4, Crystal underwent six rounds of chemo and a stem cell transplant that successfully eliminated the cancer from her body.
Nate Oats shared his wife's journey and struggle on Facebook and in a video for Max Effort, where he explained the challenges they faced and the strength they showed.
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