March Madness: Dusty May will return to FAU, sign new long-term deal after Final Four run
Dusty May isn’t going anywhere.
After leading Florida Atlantic on a dream run to the Final Four, the coach said Thursday that he plans to sign a long-term contract extension with the Owls.
"I love it here,” May told CBS Sports. “I love our players, I love our staff and the only thing I've been focused on since the beginning was doing the best job for our team. I was doing my job and I never had any intent of leaving."
May is in his fifth season at FAU, which marks his first head coaching job in college basketball. He boasts a 101-59 overall record, and has had a winning record in all five seasons in Boca Raton.
The Owls are in the midst of a wild NCAA tournament run. In their second appearance in the tournament, they got past No. 8 Memphis, No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson and No. 4 Tennessee before upsetting No. 3 Kansas State in the Elite Eight to punch their ticket to Houston. The program currently has a 35-3 record, which is both the best in the sport and by far the best in school history.
The Owls will take on No. 5 San Diego State on Saturday in the Final Four.
Naturally, May’s run at FAU has made him a top candidate for bigger jobs in the sport. According to CBS Sports, May was approached by several coaching search firms in February and March about open jobs or soon-to-be open jobs, but he turned them all down.
"The most attractive thing about FAU is it's ours," May said, via CBS Sports. "We've built our identity, we've built amazing team culture and those are things most important to me. ... We spent five years developing real, genuine relationships and it's hard to restart and do those things again. I have a lot of loyalty to our players who've given everything, sacrificed ... That's what makes this group so successful, that we all give and no one's thinking about taking all the time."
May, 46, currently makes just less than $500,000 a year at FAU. His new deal, which is expected to get done after the season, will reportedly pay May more than $1 million annually.
The school has raised about $11 million for the basketball programs in the past two years, too, and the salary pool for assistant coaches is expected to be increased.
"We could not be more grateful and excited to have coach May lead this program into the future," FAU athletic director Brian White told CBS Sports. "The way he leads this program is incredible from a wins and losses perspective, but just as important is the culture he builds, the student-athlete experience he contributes to, the people he brings to FAU.
"We're so proud of our men's basketball program and are extremely excited about the opportunity to have Dusty leading it into the future."
