NC State director of athletics Boo Corrigan channeled the same frustrations and bewilderment from that fans were feeling Thursday in talking about coach Will Wade's sudden departure from the men's basketball program.

On Tuesday night, Wade met with NC State athletics staff for two hours to discuss the state of the basketball program, Corrigan said. It was similar to ongoing talks that had occurred throughout the season. 

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Corrigan said he had no indication, at that point, that Wade was out the door. 

"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 during a Thursday afternoon news conference. "And I believe everyone here saw it, wrote about it.

"I was as surprised and shocked as anyone else as this occurred based on the previous conversations that we had," Corrigan said.

Corrigan said he learned of Wade's resignation on Wednesday morning, "as I came into work," although he had consumed other "rumors and innuendo" making the rounds on the internet. 

"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. That being said, as soon as we received notice of his resignation, the search began, and we are committed to finding the next coach for our men's basketball program that wants to be at NC State that understands who we are, that understands that we're a tough school, that understands that we're a great academic institution, that understands that our fan base has very high expectations and can embrace that."

We are committed to finding the next coach for our men's basketball program that wants to be at NC State that understands who we are, that understands that we're a tough school, that understands that we're a great academic institution, that understands that our fan base has very high expectations and can embrace that."Boo Corrigan, NC State director of athletics

Corrigan and NC State learned of Wade's resignation in an email from his agent. Corrigan said his last interaction with Wade came on Wednesday afternoon.

On X on Thursday, Wade wrote that his return to LSU was "deeply personal," and described the opportunity as "a chance to go home."

Wade arrived on Thursday night in Louisiana, according to X posts from the LSU Basketball account.

Wade and NC State agreed to a $4 million buyout, Corrigan said. The buyout total would have dropped to $3 million after April 1. Corrigan said he was disappointed that the two could not have come to an agreement during an in-person meeting.  

"For us, being able to move forward was just as important, but we understood the dollar amount versus the value of time, and we chose to settle at $4 million," Corrigan said.

"In thinking about who we are and what we are, the Wolfpack ain't for soft people," Corrigan said. "We're going to go find a coach who understands who we are and what we are."

Wade has had a complicated legacy as a coach. He coached at LSU from 2017 to 2022 and enjoyed moderate success before being fired for recruiting violations. At points during the season, speculation that he'd return to Baton Rouge spread on social media, forcing Wade to clear the air at the ACC Tournament. The noise got louder on Tuesday night, and the picture became clear on Wednesday. By Thursday morning, it was a virtual lock. 

NC State will be looking for commitment and investment in the school in Wade's replacement.

"I believe we're a school that someone can stay for 10 years and have an unbelievably great run here," Corrigan said. "So that's 100% what we're looking for, right? We don't want to be a stepping stone on the way to another job. And again, we thought we had that right in every conversation and every release and everything that was out there, we believe that we had that right. So we're going to go out and find someone again."

The transfer portal opens on April 7, the day after the national championship game. Wade finished his only season in Raleigh with a 20-14 record and reached the NCAA Tournament's First Four. The season peaked in a 82-58 win against a Caleb Wilson-less UNC. State dropped eight of its last 10 games, dropping to seventh in the ACC at the end of the regular season.

Wade won over fans last offseason with a big personality brimming with confidence and competitive fire, cultivating an energy through that passion. He posed for photos with supporters and Jim Valvano's statue after his introductory press conference on March 25, 2025, almost exactly one year ago Thursday. Many felt the NC State job was a chance for Wade to rebuild his reputation after being suspended and having to serve a two-year show-cause penalty for recruiting and bribery violations.

His trademark candor was apparent after games throughout the year. As recently as last week, Wade told the media, “This will be the worst team we have at NC State, right here," after State's season-ending loss to Texas in the First Four. "We just watched it. This is the floor of our program.”

The Wolfpack find themselves in a similar predicament as rival North Carolina as they try to find a coach. The last year both UNC and NC State were searching for a men's basketball head coach was 1946.

As of Thursday, 4-star forward and Hillsborough native Cole Cloer and 4-star center Trevon Carter-Givens are committed to play for State next season. 

For now, State finds itself in a similar position as it did last March, on the lookout for a new coach. Names like NC State alum Justin Gainey have come up.

Corrigan said the department hasn't decided whether or not to use a search firm.

"It's important that we close this era," Corrigan said. "What happened this past year ... that is not something that the next coach needs to deal with. They get to build on what occurred, they get to build on 2,000 new season tickets we sold last year and be a part of that. Their job is to move us forward, not backwards."

When asked if he regretted hiring Wade, Corrigan said no and that he appreciated the excitement he helped generate. Corrigan took over as director of athletics in 2019 and is making his second headline hire in that tenure.

"I think going back to this past year, a lot of people are excited about NC State basketball, and excited about what happened this past year, and I think it's really hard and had a fair amount of self-reflection on everything that's occurred in the last, you know, 24, 30 hours," Corrigan said. "But he did a good job when he was here. It's fun to go to games again, right? And to see all the people in the arena. It's fun to beat teams from around here and be a part of that."