BOCA RATON, Fla. — Dusty Maye is going to Michigan State, returning to his Big Ten roots and leaving Florida Atlantic after six seasons in which his run in the Final Four drew national attention a year ago. become.
Michigan President Santa Ono announced the hire in a social media post Saturday night.
Maye and the Wolverines are in the process of finalizing details of what is expected to be a five-year deal, according to the people, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the University of Michigan has not yet announced terms.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Dusty May to the University of Michigan as our new head basketball coach,” Ono wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
ESPN The agreement was first reported.
Maye replaces former Michigan State star Juwan Howard, who was fired after five seasons with the Wolverines.
Howard went 82-67 in two NCAA Tournament appearances, but the Wolverines went 8-24 this season, the school’s worst record since 1960-61.
Just 24 hours after FAU’s season ended, the University of Michigan placed the rebuilding task in Maye’s hands.
Speculation about May’s future began long ago, and has been going on for more than a year.
He was touted as a possible coaching candidate after first bringing FAU to national attention with a 20-game winning streak last season.
And with the NCAA advancing to the Final Four and the Owls within reach of a berth in the national championship game against Connecticut, the feeling that Maye is ready for the biggest thing is further confirmed. .
FAU did everything it could to keep Maye last year, signing him to a 10-year extension shortly after reaching the Final Four.
He earned a base salary of $1.25 million this season, plus an additional $25,000 for his NCAA Tournament berth.
With Maye’s decision to step down, FAU is scheduled to receive a $1 million buyout.
Maye has faced questions about his future in recent weeks, including during FAU’s loss to Northwestern in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
His stance never wavered. His plan was to listen to the callers and decide what was best.
And Michigan State apparently made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
“College basketball is in a lot of flux. Click on Twitter to see,” May said after FAU’s loss in the tournament on Friday. “For everyone in our locker room, you never know what’s going to happen next. I love FAU. I love coaching them and that’s it.”
Maye went 126-69 in his six years at Florida Atlantic, finishing with a winning record in each season, but has seen the wins really add up over the past two years.
The Owls went 35-4 last season and reached the Final Four, and finished this season with 25-9.
That’s 60 wins over the past two years. Coming into this weekend, the only Division I men’s programs with more wins in that span were Houston (64) and defending national champion UConn (63).
FAU’s home record in that game was 30-1, tied with Drake for the best record at the Division I men’s level. All games in Boca Raton were sold out. It was a hot ticket, with students lining up for hours to attend some games. The competition was unlike anything the school had ever seen before.
Countless firsts in FAU basketball history captured the spotlight in May, including the first NCAA Tournament championship, the first 25-win season, the first AP Top 25 appearance, and the first Final Four.
FAU had just won 20 games in one season before May. The Owls currently have three players, but he was able to lure big-time talent to Boca Raton to play in a 3,000-seat arena that doubles as a practice court. It was a place where many of the rims had peeling orange paint and many parts were missing, many of the amenities boasted by a prestigious program.
To put it another way, May had more winning seasons at FAU (six) than the school had won in total (five) during its first 25 years in Division I before he came to FAU. Ta.
FAU was Maye’s first stop as a head coach. He previously was an assistant at the University of Florida, Louisiana Tech, UAB, Murray State, and Eastern Michigan University, and began his coaching career as an administrative assistant and video coordinator at USC, before which he graduated from Indiana University. He was a manager under Bob Knight.
And now he returns to the Big Ten wearing only the maize and blue.
