Florida Atlantic is on an unreal Cinderella run. The Owls just made their first Final Four in men’s basketball, already providing the greatest athletic achievement in school history.
At 35-3, the men’s team has won more games this season than any other school in the nation.
So who is leading this dramatic run and record-breaking season?
Dusty May coaches the FAU Owls.
May has been at FAU since 2018. He has led them to four winning seasons in his five years, totaling a 101-59 record.
He took FAU to the CBI and CIT, where they lost in the first round. This is the first time FAU and May have won more than 20 games and the first time they made the NCAA Tournament.
May led his squad to a Conference USA regular-season and tournament championship this season. He was named Conference USA Coach of the Year as well.
May is 46 years old and grew up in Greene County, Indiana. He decided not to play college basketball at a smaller school and went to Indiana University.
While at IU, May was a student manager on the Indiana men’s basketball team under legenday coach Bob Knight.
May has been a longtime assistant coach in Division I basketball. He coached at Eastern Michigan, Murray State, Alabama-Birmingham, Louisiana Tech and Florida.
He also worked in the video departments for the basketball programs at Indiana and USC before starting his coaching career.
May will be a hot name to fill other coaching vacancies this offseason.
He has said that he will not be leaving Boca Raton and FAU anytime soon.
May signed a five-year extension in 2021. He currently earns $429,975 in annual salary. He acquired some serious bonuses this year during FAU’s tournament run.
- Regular Season Conference Champion – $15,000
- NCAA Tournament Bid – $25,000
- Conference Coach of the Year – $10,000
- NCAA Tournament Win – $30,000
- Sweet Sixteen Appearance – $50,000
- Elite Eight Appearance – $75,000
- Final Four Appearance – $100,000
If May is hired by a bigger school, that program will have to pay FAU a $400,000 contract buyout.
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