With the same passion he displayed during his two years at McNeese State, Will Wade met his new fans Tuesday in Raleigh, N.C.

With a red-and-white striped tie, Wade boasted about what it meant to be the new head coach at North Carolina State five days after making history with the Cowboys.

Last week, Wade led McNeese to its first win in the NCAA Tournament, beating Clemson 69-67 in Providence, R.I.

However, he started the news conference with McNeese.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t thank the people at McNeese State,” Wade said. “Not many people would take a chance on me after my troubles at LSU, and McNeese did.”

Wade was fired by LSU in 2022 because of allegations of recruiting violations. Wade and LSU were not the only schools involved in the investigation.

“In fact, I would not be here today if not for McNeese taking a chance on me,” Wade said.

Wade did a lot for McNeese, too.

In just two years, he transformed one of the worst college basketball programs in the nation into one of the better Mid-Major teams in the country. Along the way, his Cowboys broke records, sold tickets, and became a massive part of the Southwest Louisiana community.

His teams went 58-11 and 40-2 against the Southland Conference competition. The Cowboys made two straight NCAA Tournaments for the first time and even won that historic game, turning the McNeese name into a national brand.

In the five seasons before Wade arrived in Lake Charles, the Cowboys managed just 56 total wins, while the area suffered through a pair of devastating hurricanes, a historic flood, and other natural disasters.

“Will did everything we could have asked from him,” said McNeese Athletic Director Heath Schroyer. “He did a lot for our community, as well. He’s a special person, a special coach.”

While at McNeese, Wade was the SLC Coach of the Year in both seasons and turned out the league’s Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

His teams lost just once in 33 home games with multiple sellouts in the Legacy Center.

All this was done at a place with only two NCAA bids in its first half-century as a Division I program.

“We are proud of what we did at McNeese,” Wade said. “It was a special place and time for me and my family.”

N.C. State fans and officials were quick to embrace their new coach.

“I can’t think of a better person to lead our basketball program,” said N.C. State Chancellor Randy Woodson. “This is a great day for our university.”

Despite his warts at LSU and N.C. State’s own issues, the school seemed to have Wade as its main target from the day they fired Kevin Keatts. Keatts was fired on March 9 after eight seasons in charge of the Wolfpack and less than a year after taking them to the Final Four.

N.C. State fell off the map this year, finishing 12-17 and 16th in the Atlantic Coast Conference, leading to the change in coaches.

“Will Wade is the right person for this program,” said N.C. State Athletic Director Boo Corrigan. “We want to win, we want to win now, and we want to win big.”

Wade said he is ready.

“This is not a rebuild,” said Wade. “We are here to win now. We will be in the top half of the ACC and be in the NCAA Tournament next year.”

After what he did at McNeese, who would doubt him.