Dusty May receives five-year contract to become next Michigan basketball coach

The contract details for Dusty May have been revealed after it was reported Saturday he would become the next Michigan basketball coach. According to Brendan Quinn of The Athletic, May will sign a five-year contract with the Wolverines.

May was previously the head coach at Florida Atlantic for the past six seasons. He led the Owls to a 35-4 record and the first Final Four appearance in program history in 2023. He followed that up with a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance this past season. However, FAU bowed out in the first round with a loss to Northwestern.

Dusty May is set to take over a Michigan team that finished this past season 8-24 to miss out on March Madness for the second straight year. He takes over for Juwan Howard, who compiled a 87-72 record over the past five seasons.

Overall, May amassed a 126-70 record at Florida Atlantic, including a 61-39 conference record between Conference USA and the AAC. After the Final Four run, the school gave him a lucrative 10-year contract extension.

According to the Palm Beach Post, May’s salary increased to $1.25 million per year with a 5% raise each season until 2033. The Columbus Dispatch reported his buyout dropped to $1 million on Feb. 29.

May was also considered a target at Ohio State as the Buckeyes worked to replace Chris Holtmann, who was fired on Feb. 14 and is now taking over as the head coach at DePaul. However, the Buckeyes opted to promote interim head coach Jake Diebler to the full-time job – taking a potential landing spot came off the board.

A look at Dusty May’s coaching resume

Dusty May’s connection to college basketball started as a student manager at Indiana under the late Bob Knight. That set the table for a coaching career which began at Eastern Michigan, with later stints at Murray State and UAB.

Louisiana Tech then brought May aboard in 2009, and he stayed there until 2015. That’s when Florida Atlantic came calling as he joined Michael Curry’s staff. After FAU fired Curry, May moved up to the head chair, and the Owls hit their stride during the 2021-22 season with a 19-15 record – including an 11-7 mark in league action – to get a CBI appearance.

A year later, they made the Final Four to become a national name. Now, May is heading to Michigan, where he’ll hope to have similar success with the Wolverines and get the program back on track.