Florida Atlantic's Dusty May to be new Michigan coach
Florida Atlantic's Dusty May has agreed on a deal to become the next men's basketball coach at Michigan, according to university president Santa Ono.
"I am thrilled to welcome Dusty May to the University of Michigan as our new head basketball coach," Ono wrote on social media Saturday night.
Sources told ESPN that Andy Miller, May's representative with Klutch Sports, was finalizing the details on a long-term deal with Michigan officials late into Saturday evening.
May, 47, leaves Florida Atlantic after an improbable 2023 Final Four run and a 2024 NCAA tournament appearance, winning 60 games over the past two seasons -- which only UConn and Houston have also done.
FAU lost to Northwestern in overtime Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament, and sources said that Michigan officials moved quickly to secure May as the school's next coach.
Several high-major programs -- including Louisville of the ACC and Vanderbilt of the SEC -- pursued May as a coaching candidate. May ultimately became swept away with Michigan's alumni network and fierce loyalty to the university and athletics, sources said, and he believes that will help transcend some of the inherently transactional nature of the modern NIL/transfer portal era in recruiting and player retention.
May will replace Juwan Howard, who was dismissed after five seasons and the program's first last-place finish in the Big Ten since the 1966-67 season.
May's professional climb has been a study in perseverance and patience. He landed at a downtrodden FAU program six years ago for his first head-coaching job and went 126-69 without a losing season.
Florida Atlantic's .822 winning percentage in the past two years was the fifth best in Division I, according to ESPN Stats & Information data.
FAU's Top 25 rankings in the past two seasons are the only ones in school history. The Owls reached the Final Four as a No. 9 seed in 2023, becoming the ninth team seeded No. 9 or lower to reach the Final Four since seeding began in 1979, according to ESPN Stats & Info research.
May is an Indiana University graduate who has had assistant-coaching stops at his alma mater as well as at USC, Eastern Michigan, Murray State, UAB, Louisiana Tech and Florida.
