May era over at FAU, coach is headed for Michigan
The Dusty May era at Florida Atlantic is over.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported late Saturday night that May was poised to become the next head basketball coach at Michigan. The Detroit Free Press reported that May will sign a 5year deal. The Free Press also reported that within the hour of the news breaking, U-M president Santa Ono confirmed the news, stating on social media he was “thrilled” to welcome May to Ann Arbor.
The timing could not have been better for May, who signed a 10-year contract extension after leading the Owls to the Final Four a year ago. According to the terms of the contract, obtained by The Palm Beach Post, if May had taken another job before Feb. 29, 2024, he would have owed the university $1.5 million. That number decreased to $1 million for the coming year. The Free Press reported that Michigan will pay the money to Florida Atlantic for hiring the former Owls coach while he was still under contract.
May won 60 games at FAU over the last two seasons. He has a 126-69 record in five seasons with the Owls.
FAU saw its season end Friday in Brooklyn as the eighth-seeded Owls lost 77-65 in overtime against ninth-seeded Northwestern.
The Michigan job came open when former Wolverines star Juwan Howard was fired after the 2024 season following the program’s first last-place finish in the Big Ten in more than 50 years. The Wolverines missed the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year and finished with the most losses in a single season in school history, including a 3-17 mark in Big Ten play.
May was given a 10-year contract extension with a hefty raise one week after FAU’s 2022-23 season ended in the semifinals of the Final Four in Houston with a last-second loss to San Diego State.
The new contract paid May $1.25 million per year starting immediately and increases by 5 percent each year until 2033. The total base salary came to more than $15.7 million over the 10 years.
May also was eligible for several bonuses, including $250,000 for winning the national championship, $150,000 for appearing in the championship game, $100,000 for appearing in the Final Four, $75,000 for making the Elite 8, $50,000 for making the Sweet 16, $30,000 for winning an NCAA Tournament game and $25,000 for receiving an NCAA Tournament bid.
May came to the Boca Raton campus six years ago when Athletic Director Brian White hired a coach he worked with a few years back at Louisiana Tech. At the time, no one would have guessed he was making the most significant hire in the program’s history. At the time, May was an unassuming assistant at Florida under White’s brother, Mike White.
Now, he will be coaching in the same conference where he once was a student manager at Indiana, his alma mater, under the late legendary coach Bobby Knight.