Dusty May discusses how he plans to utilize NIL at Michigan

After parting ways with former Michigan player and head coach Juwan Howard following five seasons at the helm of the basketball program, the Wolverines have officially found their new head coach. Naming former Florida Atlantic head man Dusty May their new head coach on Sunday.

May has spent the last six seasons as the head coach of the Owls, boasting an impressive 126–69 record along with two straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Highlighted by a memorable run to the Final Four last season after FAU won their regular season and conference titles.

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There’s no doubt that May has proven his worth as a ball coach, but in today’s college athletics landscape head coaches are tasked with much more. As he spoke about name, image, and likeness at Michigan, its prominence, and its relation to recruiting in his introductory press conference.

“We obviously have one of the best alumni bases in the world and it’s a university that really supports athletics,” May said. “And probably over the last year, our roles and responsibilities as coaches change and evolve.”

Collegiate head coaches in every sport face a new challenge, as their ability with the X’s and O’s has now become just as important as their ability to essentially be general managers for their respective programs. Managing the distribution of money to players through NIL deals as overall roster management has changed significantly in the last few years. With May revealing that players aren’t the only people he’ll be recruiting in Ann Arbor moving forward.

“I probably spend about 25 to 30% of my time on NIL and recruiting donors, giving access to our program, doing anything we could to provide opportunities for our players and it is what it is. I’ve learned to enjoy it and it’s not going away. And I’d love for our players to be taken care of as much as possible and rewarded for the work that they can do,” May concluded.

Ultimately, strong financial support from donors results in strong NIL collectives and a strong roster. And it’s clear that May will be dedicated to utilizing Michigan’s strong donor base and resources to the best of his ability as he looks to turn the program around following a last-place finish in the Big Ten standings this past season.

Four Michigan players have already entered the transfer portal this offseason, and it will be interesting to see how May rebuilds the 2024-2025 roster moving forward this offseason while also inevitably utilizing NIL in the process.