NC State University is investigating whether Louisiana State University improperly persuaded basketball coach Will Wade to break his contract with the Wolfpack to return to the bayou after one season in Raleigh, according to letters between the schools’ lawyers obtained by WRAL News.

NC State is now refusing to release LSU from potential legal action tied to Wade’s acrimonious departure while it looks into whether LSU violated the Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, a North Carolina law that allows for damages and the recovery of attorneys’ fees. NC State said it has reason to believe LSU may have worked to help Wade avoid a larger buyout fee.

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“The timing and circumstances of Coach Wade’s departure from Raleigh and his resignation, along with the LSU term sheet, and the eventual [buyout] payment of $4 million to NC State raise questions about LSU’s potential liability in this matter,” NC State General Counsel Allison B. Newhart wrote to LSU General Counsel Carlton Jones.

When reached by WRAL on Tuesday, Jones declined to comment on the matter or discussions with NC State. Wade didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Wade resigned on March 25 — one day before LSU announced his hiring. Wade agreed to pay NC State a $4 million buyout, which LSU wired on May 8. Days later, Jones contacted NC State about a settlement agreement between the two schools.

On May 19, Jones sent a “mutual release and settlement agreement” to NC State’s general counsel. It said that NC State would release LSU from any potential claims or actions arising from prior contact with Wade, his contract with NC State, the termination of his contract with NC State, the payment of the buyout or any other matter.

On June 4, NC State responded: “NC State has not agreed — and does not agree now — to release LSU from any liability. Instead, NC State is investigating whether LSU improperly induced Coach Wade to breach his employment agreement, induced Coach Wade to terminate his employment agreement, and interfered with the timing of termination of the employment agreement to result in lower liquidated damages — all to NC State’s detriment.”

Wade’s contract included a $5 million buyout if he left NC State before April 1. The buyout dropped to $3 million if left after that date. As reports indicated that Wade was headed to LSU, NC State and Wade negotiated a $4 million buyout, allowing him to leave and NC State to begin its search for a new coach.

“Based on Coach Wade’s actions prior to his departure and other information regarding LSU’s pursuit of Coach Wade, NC State has reason to suspect that LSU may have influenced efforts to avoid or delay notice to NC State of LSU’s recruitment of Coach Wade and perhaps even the timing of Coach Wade’s employment with LSU in order to avoid larger buyout fees,” Newhart wrote the June 4 letter.

Wade previously coached at LSU from 2017 to 2022. He was fired after being named in an FBI investigation into improperly offering to pay players in an era when that was still against NCAA rules. He coached two seasons at McNeese State in Louisiana, leading his team to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2024 and 2025. 

That’s when NC State hired Wade, hoping it had found a coach to restore the tradition-rich men’s basketball program to consistent contention in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He signed a six-year deal worth more than $17 million. Wade led the Wolfpack to the NCAA Tournament in his first season. 

Even before the season started, there were reports that LSU wanted to hire Wade — and that speculation only grew as the season progressed. Wade publicly professed his commitment to NC State and he did so privately, as well, according to Wolfpack athletics director Boo Corrigan. 

“I’m excited to be at NC State,” Wade said after the Wolfpack was eliminated from the ACC Tournament. “I was hired at NC State to do a job. We’re going to win and we’re going to win big at NC State.”

He coached just one more game at the school — a loss to Texas in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament.

“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," Corrigan said after Wade resigned.

At his LSU introductory press conference, Wade acknowledged the awkward way things ended at NC State but said some things were falsely portrayed in the messaging around his exit.

"I think some of the things have been mischaracterized on how I left," Wade said.

Corrigan, through a spokesperson, declined comment on the matter. NC State said Newhart’s letter “includes our position on the matter.”