That didn’t take long.

Just hours after North Carolina State introduced former Cowboys’ head basketball coach Will Wade as their new man, McNeese announced his replacement.

The school officially announced Tuesday that Bill Armstrong will be the 13th head coach in McNeese basketball history. He signed a four-year deal worth $1.4 million plus incentives, the second-highest contract in school history behind only Wade’s.

McNeese will receive a $1 million buyout from NC State for releasing Wade from his contract.

“It is a dream come true,” Armstrong said. “I’m as excited as you can possibly be.

“An opportunity to do this at a place where Will Wade has laid the foundation and Heath Schroyer and Dr. Wade Rousse are on board is amazing.”

Armstrong has a direct link to Wade, who, in two years, turned the Cowboys into a relevant Mid-Major program. The team made a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and won its first tourney victory in history last Thursday.

“I’m thrilled to have Bill Armstrong take over the reins of our men’s basketball program,” said McNeese Athletic Director Heath Schroyer. “We’ve built a successful model over the last two years, and Bill fully understands that model and embraces the championship expectations we have at McNeese.

Bill is a coach I’ve known for years. He is a relentless grinder in his approach, and he is exactly what we need now. We’re just getting started, and this next chapter will be great.”

McNeese will hold an introductory press conference Wednesday at noon inside the Legacy Center to welcome Armstrong. The public is invited to attend.

Armstrong’s hiring comes just a day after Ayla Guzzardo was introduced as the school’s new women’s basketball coach.

Armstrong was an associate head coach at LSU from 2020 to 2022 after spending three years in Baton Rouge as an assistant coach under Wade. During his time with the Tigers, LSU made four postseason appearances, including three NCAA tournaments, highlighted by a run to the Sweet 16 in 2019. The Tigers also had back-to-back first-round picks in 2021 and 2022, as Cam Thomas and Tari Eason were taken with the 27th and 17th picks, respectively.

“I really love this hire,” said Joe Dumars, the Hall of Famer who stared for McNeese in the 1980s and won a pair of NBA titles with the Detroit Pistons. “Bill Armstrong understands the model that has brought so much success to McNeese, and I look forward to him building on that model going forward. 

Over Armstrong’s five seasons with Wade at LSU, the Tigers amassed 108 wins and a 2019 SEC regular-season title.

He comes to McNeese with Wade’s full endorsement, who likely had some involvement in the decision.

“McNeese is in very good hands with Bill,” said Wade. “He has been a great coach for years and will keep things rolling there.”

During a long NCAA investigation into recruiting improprieties, Armstrong and Wade were fired from LSU. Wade was suspended for 10 games by the NCAA when he returned to coaching at McNeese after sitting out a season. 

“Bill is a winner and a tireless worker,” Wade said. “I can’t think of a better coach in America to take over the McNeese program. He knows the game and knows how to build a roster.

“This is a great hire for McNeese, and the fans will love him.”

Under Wade, McNeese went 58-11, winning the Southland Conference twice, making consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, and winning their first tournament game.

Armstrong will look to build on that at McNeese, which won just 56 games in the five years before Wade’s arrival. 

Armstrong was hired as an Assistant Coach under Scott Drew on May 3, 2024, after spending two seasons as the head coach at Link Academy in Branson, Mo. While there, his Lions finished the 2022-23 season ranked No. 1 in the country and won the national championship. 

The following season, his Link team reached the semifinals of the eight-team title tournament.  

Prior to his time at LSU, Armstrong spent 11 years on staff at Ole Miss, the first five as the director of operations and the final six as an assistant coach. In that time, the Rebels won 20 games nine times, earned eight postseason berths, and won a pair of SEC West titles. He helped tutor All-SEC players like Stefan Moody, Marshall Henderson, and Sebastian Saiz.

During 2012-13, Armstrong helped the Rebels tie a school record with 27 wins and snap an 11-year NCAA Tournament drought, while Henderson earned SEC Player of the Year Honors.

Before being a Rebel, Armstrong was an assistant coach at Birmingham Southern. His first season there was Southern’s first full season of NCAA eligibility, and the team finished 20-7, winning a share of the Big South regular-season championship. 

Armstrong also served as an assistant coach at Chipola Junior College in Marianna, Florida, to begin his career. Chipola finished 23-9 in his one season. 

Armstrong started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Alabama-Birmingham in 2001-02 after graduating from the school the spring before. 

Armstrong played for Andy Kennedy, an assistant coach with the Blazers who later hired Armstrong at Ole Miss. In his four-year playing career at UAB, he was selected as a team captain his senior year and twice led UAB to the postseason, the 1998 NIT and the 1999 NCAA Tournament.