Michigan is hiring Florida Atlantic’s Dusty May as its next men’s basketball coach on a five-year contract at an average of $3.75 million annually, the school announced Sunday.
May, who grew up in Bloomington, Ind., and worked as a Hoosiers student manager for four years under Bob Knight, spent six seasons at FAU, leading the Owls to the program’s first Final Four in 2023. This year’s team, which featured every eligible player from the previous year’s Final Four squad, went 25-9 overall and reached as high as No. 7 in the AP Top 25. But the Owls were knocked out in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, losing to No. 9 seed Northwestern 77-65 in overtime.
Michigan officially announces hiring of Dusty May. Five-year deal at an average of $3.75 million annually.
— Brendan Quinn (@BFQuinn) March 24, 2024
“The University of Michigan is among the elite institutions in the world and it is both an honor and privilege to be named its head men’s basketball coach,” May said in a statement. “None of this would be possible, however, without the tremendous people at Florida Atlantic University. They embraced and supported me, as well as my family, from the minute I walked on campus.”
Michigan announced on March 15 that head coach Juwan Howard would not return after a tumultuous season that included off-court drama and dismal on-court results.
Michigan’s eight-day coaching search was extremely closely guarded, with nary a confirmed interview prior to Saturday’s news dropping. According to a program source, former Michigan coach John Beilein was involved in the final conversations with May prior to the final agreement.
The Wolverines were 8-24 in Howard’s fifth season and 3-17 in the Big Ten. The 24 losses were the most for Michigan in a single season, surpassing a 10-22 mark in 2007-08, the first year of Beilein’s tenure. May is very likely to have a completely overhauled roster for 2024-25 and will need to navigate Michigan’s stern admission standards for transfer portal options.
May won in a place where no one has ever won before. FAU had never had three consecutive winning seasons in league play before May got there, and only twice had it had back-to-back winning league records. May produced winning records in FAU’s final three years in Conference USA and extended the streak to four with a 14-4 record in the school’s first season in the AAC. May is all about relationships. His players look at him like a father figure.
May’s teams spread the floor, shoot a lot of 3s and know how to play in space. When he got to FAU, his plan was to recruit internationally for a skilled big man who could stretch the floor because all the best bigs in the C-USA were athletic rim protectors. In his first year, he had every center shooting 100 extra 3s after every practice. He proved he could adapt when FAU landed a more traditional, back-to-the-basket big in Vladislav Goldin.
“He’s a high-major talent,” May told The Athletic this year. “You can get a high-level talent, you figure out how to use him.”
Defensively, May’s teams try to keep assist rates low and make teams score in isolation or the mid-range. His teams play to the numbers and their strengths.
May was the most sought-after coach in this cycle, with Louisville, Vanderbilt and West Virginia also interested.
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(Photo: Brad Penner / USA Today)
