Reports: Louisville Coaching Target Dusty May Heading to Michigan

The Cardinals' No. 2 target to replace Kenny Payne is heading to the Wolverines.

March 22, 2024, Brooklyn, NY, USA; Florida Atlantic Owls head coach Dusty May reacts against the / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville has reportedly struck out on another target for their vacant men's basketball coaching position.

Florida Atlantic head coach Dusty May agreed on a deal to become the next head coach at Michigan, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. It will be a five-year deal to coach the Wolverines, according to The Field of 68's Jeff Goodman.

Ever since Baylor head coach Scott Drew announced this past Wednesday that he would be staying in Waco with the Bears, Louisville and athletic director Josh Heird quickly shifted their focus towards May, who was presumed to be the Cardinals' No. 2 option behind Drew. Over the last couple days, these rumors began to accelerate, with many believing that it was a matter of when, not if, May-to-Louisville became official.

However, Michigan - and Vanderbilt - remained firmly in the mix to pry May away from the Owls. According to Wojnarowski, May became "swept away" with Michigan's alumni network and their "fierce loyalty to the university and athletics." May believed that it would "help transcend some of the inherently transactional nature of the modern NIL/transfer portal era in recruiting and player retention."

While May doesn't have the resume that Drew had, he has quickly become one of the hottest names in college basketball coaching. He burst onto the scene in 2023, guiding FAU on a miracle run to the Final Four. While the Owls were dealt a first-round exit in this year's NCAA Tournament, May has gone 60-13 over his last two seasons in Boca Raton, and 129-69 overall.

Louisville officially fired former head coach Kenny Payne on Mar. 13, one day removed from their season-ending loss to NC State in the ACC Tournament. Payne's tenure at Louisville was nothing short of an abject disaster, going 12-52 record in his two years at his alma mater. This includes 5-35 in regular season ACC games, 1-28 in road/neutral site games and 0-19 in Quad 1 NET games. 

(Photo of Dusty May: Brad Penner - USA TODAY Sports)

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