Michigan NIL collective Champions Circle launches 'March with May' basketball campaign

Michigan is making sure Dusty May has the NIL funds necessary to compete in the Big Ten and on the national stage.

Just two days after news broke that the Florida Atlantic head coach was taking over in Ann Arbor, the Michigan-driven NIL collective Champions Circle launched the “March with May” campaign. A source described the Wolverines’ NIL operation for basketball as “unorganized” on the day Juwan Howard was fired.

The new basketball-centric NIL campaign from Champions Circle sends the clear message that May will have all the backing he needs to get Michigan back to its first Final Four since 2018. No specific goal has been set but as of 1:45 p.m. ET on Monday, 67 donors have raised over $8,000.

“As Coach May begins building the program this off-season, we need every single Wolverine fan to step up and support him and the next great era of Michigan basketball,” the collective wrote on the campaign’s website. “Michigan is the greatest University in the world. We now have one of the sharpest coaches in the college game.  In order to get Michigan back to being a top-10 team every single year, we have to give our new coach the resources the program needs.”

The majority of top NIL collectives in college basketball are operating with a $1 to $4 million payroll. With the recent preliminary injunction in the Eastern District of Tennessee, collectives will be able to negotiate deals with high school and transfer portal recruits openly. Having a multi-million dollar NIL budget in basketball will only work in Michigan’s favor.

May agreed to terms on a five-year deal with Michigan that averages $3.75 million annually. He leaves Florida Atlantic after six years, taking the Owls to the 2023 Final Four and the 2024 NCAA Tournament. He’s won 60 games in the last two seasons.

The Indiana alumni was tied to the opening at Ohio State and Louisville and some thought he would hold out for taking over his alma mater. May will be introduced at a press conference Tuesday in Ann Arbor.

Dusty May will need to retool through portal

Since Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel fired Howard earlier this month, Michigan has seen small forward Youssef Khayat, center Tarris Reed, guard George Washington III and point guard Dug McDaniel all enter the transfer portal.

For May to field a competitive team in 2024, he’ll have to use the transfer portal to turn around a program that finished 8-24 this past season. On3’s Chris Balas of The Wolverine reported earlier Monday that some of May’s players at Florida Atlantic could follow him north to Ann Arbor.

Since the transfer portal opened on March 18, more than 600 athletes have entered with the total tally for the 2023-24 academic year sitting at more than 895 entries. Ahead of the transfer portal opening in college basketball, On3 spoke with several agents and collectives to identify what competitive NIL budgets look like in the sport.

As one NIL collective operator told On3, every top 25 program spends at least $1 million in basketball between recruiting high school players and the portal, along with roster retention.

Sources were torn on whether hefty budgets could buy elite teams. Unlike college football where the top collectives and NIL entities are looking to spend well over eight figures, basketball does not take as much money.

“You can buy a really good lineup, five players, between $800,000 to $1 million,” an agent with multiple clients planning to hit the portal told On3.

Another agent disagreed.

“I don’t think you can buy an NCAA tournament team,” the agent said. “Some of these programs with the biggest NIL collective budgets bought teams that aren’t making the NCAA tournament.”

With Champions Circle launching “March with May” on Monday, the Wolverines are taking the steps to find success in the transfer portal.