Dusty Allan May (born December 30, 1976) is an American

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coach, currently the Wolverines men's basketball head coach at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. He was the head coach for

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...

from 2018 to 2024, leading the

Owls Owls are birds from the Order (biology), order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly Solitary animal, solitary and Nocturnal animal, nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vis ...

to the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

in 2023. May was hired by Michigan in 2024, replacing

Juwan Howard Juwan Antonio Howard ( ; born February7, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as the head coach ...

Coaching career

Early years

Dusty Allan May was born in

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and Terre Haute metropolitan area, its metropolitan area had a populati ...

. After graduating from Eastern Greene High School in

Bloomfield, Indiana Bloomfield is a town within Richland Township and the county seat of Greene County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,405 at the 2010 census. Bloomfield is part of the Bloomington, Indiana metropolitan area. History The area whe ...

in 1995, May served as a student manager at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

from 1996 to 2000, under legendary Hoosiers head coach

Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (October 25, 1940 – November 1, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach (basketball), coach. Nicknamed "the General", he won 902 NCAA Division I men's basketball games, a record at the time of his retire ...

. After graduating, he had video and administrative roles with Indiana as well as at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

(USC), and his first assistant coaching job at

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public university, public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal ...

in 2005. May had subsequent stops at

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky, in the Southern United States. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper-level an ...

and the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1969 and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest employer, with more than ...

(UAB), serving under former Indiana head coach Mike Davis. After two seasons at UAB, he joined the staff at

Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public university, public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and Carnegie Classification of Institu ...

as an assistant under Kerry Rupp and Mike White from 2009 to 2015. May followed Mike White to the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, serving as an assistant from 2015 to 2018.

Florida Atlantic University

On March 22, 2018, May was hired at

(FAU) as the head coach of the Owls basketball program, replacing Michael Curry. In his first NCAA tournament in 2023, May led the No. 9 seed

to the school’s first

, with victories over No. 8 Memphis, No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson, No. 4

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and No. 3

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

, before losing to No. 5

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

on a buzzer beater. The team finished the season with an NCAA Division I leading and program record, 35 wins. The next season, he led the program back to the 2024 NCAA tournament as a No. 8 seed, this time losing to No. 9 Northwestern in the first round. In his first tenure as a head coach, from 2018 to 2024, May compiled a 126–69 record and never had a season with a losing record.

University of Michigan

2024–25

On March 23, 2024, May was named the head basketball coach at the

, agreeing to a five-year contract with an average value of $3.75 million annually. In his first month as head coach, May garnered seven new roster commitments in a five-day span, from April 19 to 24. On April 29, he added his eighth offseason commitment, his former

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

at FAU, Vladislav Goldin. Through November, the first month of the 2024-25 season, May led

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

to a 6–1 record, including defeating No. 22 Xavier en route to being the Fort Myers Tip-Off champions. The next two games, Michigan opened the Big Ten Conference season winning on the road against No. 11

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and against

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. It was Michigan's seventh consecutive win, the longest streak since the 2020–21 Michigan team won 11 consecutive games to start the season. It was also the eighth total win, 8–1, matching the Wolverines previous season’s win total; 8–24. On December 9, Michigan was ranked No. 14 in the AP poll. It marked the first time the Wolverines were ranked in the AP poll since November 14, 2022, and the first time inside the top 15 since November 15, 2021. Through 22 games, May led Michigan to a 17–5 overall record, 9–2 in the Big Ten and 11–0 at home. Each marked the Wolverines' best record since the 2020–21 team. The next game, May returned to his

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

with No. 24 Michigan defeating

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

on the road. No. 20 Michigan then won against No. 7

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

, moving into first place in the Big Ten standings and improving to 12–0 at home, 11–2 in the conference and 4–2 versus ranked opponents. It was the program's first victory against a top ten ranked team at home since defeating No. 3 Purdue on February 10, 2022. In rivalry week, No. 20 Michigan defeated

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

on the road, winning their 20th game of the year (20–5), but at No. 12 in the rankings they lost their first home game of the season to No. 14

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

. On February 21, 2025, May signed a contract extension with Michigan. He received one additional year on his previous five-year contract, nearly one million dollars more per year, an increased buyout and a larger NIL investment in the program. Michigan won their next two games and sat in first place in the Big Ten, but lost the final three games of the regular season, including a second loss to Michigan State in the finale. They finished 22–9 and 14–6, tying

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

for second place in the conference. The 14 conference wins by May were the most in program history for a first-year head coach, including the best win percentage in modern history, topping Steve Fisher's 12–6 conference record in his first official season as head coach with the 1989–90 Michigan team. On March 14, No. 22 Michigan earned the three seed in the 2025 Big Ten tournament and defeated sixth-seeded No. 20 Purdue in the quarterfinal. With 23 wins on the season, May tied Steve Fisher for the second-most in program history by a first-year head coach. On March 15, Michigan defeated second-seeded No. 11

in the semifinal. On March 16, Michigan defeated fifth-seeded No. 18

in the Big Ten championship game, 59–53, winning the program’s first Big Ten tournament since

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

. The Wolverines improved to 25–9, 17–6 against conference opponents and 7–5 against ranked opponents. With 25 wins on the season, May tied Brian Ellerbe for the most total wins in program history by a first-year head coach. He also became the first officially recognized conference coach to win the Big Ten tournament title in their first season, with the only other being Ellerbe in Michigan’s first win in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, though that season was later vacated by the NCAA. Michigan finished as Big Ten champions one year after finishing in last place in the conference. The win earned Michigan the conference's automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA tournament as the No. 5 seed in the South Region. It was May’s third consecutive season taking a team to the tournament. On March 20, the Wolverines defeated No. 12 seed

UC San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Sc ...

, 68–65, in the First Round in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. With 26 wins, May became the winningest first-year head coach in program history. On March 22, Michigan defeated No. 4 seed

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

in the Second Round 91–79, winning a fifth consecutive postseason game and improving to 27–9. It was May’s second Sweet Sixteen appearance in three seasons. Under his leadership Michigan made history, as no team in the NCAA had ever lost as many games one season before advancing to the Sweet Sixteen of the tournament (since introduced in 1975). On March 28, Michigan lost to the No. 1 overall seed Auburn in the regional semifinal, 65–78. In May’s first season, the Wolverines finished the year 27–10, an increase of 19 wins from the previous season.

Personal life

May and his wife, Anna, have three sons. His eldest, Jack, played for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

from 2020 to 2024, while his middle son, Charlie, transferred from the

UCF Knights The UCF Knights are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Central Florida in unincorporated Orange County, Florida near Orlando, Florida, Orlando. The Knights participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NC ...

to Michigan in 2024. His youngest, Eli, is a team manager for his father’s Wolverines.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Michigan profile

Florida Atlantic profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Dusty Living people American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Indiana College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball coaches Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball coaches Florida Gators men's basketball coaches Indiana University Bloomington alumni Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball coaches Murray State Racers men's basketball coaches UAB Blazers men's basketball coaches 1976 births People from Bloomfield, Indiana Michigan Wolverines men's basketball coaches