Dusty April | Celebrating Dusty May's Championship Legacy

His last name is May — a month. But the month that defines him? That’s April.

Every March, college basketball fans hold their breath through the madness. But it’s the coaches who survive into April — the Final Four, the National Championship weekend — who get written into history. Dusty May has now done it twice: once as the architect of the greatest mid-major Cinderella story in modern memory, and once as the head coach of the storied Michigan Wolverines.

DustyApril.com exists to celebrate the coach who proved that if your last name is May, your month of destiny is April. Part wordplay, part tribute, entirely earned.

The "April Habits" Origin Story

After FAU defeated Kansas State in the 2023 Elite Eight to punch their ticket to the Final Four, Dusty May gathered his players in the locker room. He looked around at what they had just accomplished — a #9 seed reaching the Final Four — and told them something he has since built an entire coaching philosophy around:

“Guys, I sold you short. I underpromised. If we develop the right habits, we could play into April.” — Dusty May, FAU locker room, 2023 Elite Eight

That moment birthed the April Habits philosophy. Daily practice, daily decisions, daily choices — all aimed at building championship habits worthy of April basketball. Today, there is a sign in the Michigan Wolverines’ locker room that reads simply: APRIL HABITS.

And on April 4, 2026, Michigan is playing in the Final Four in Indianapolis. The habits got them here.

January

February

March → Madness Starts

April → DUSTY’S MONTH

May → (his name)

In the Michigan Locker Room APRIL
HABITS

🏠

Early Life: Solsberry, Indiana

Born December 30, 1976 in Terre Haute, Indiana. Dusty May grew up in Solsberry, Greene County — a small town he described as “about as backwoods as you can get.” He attended Eastern Greene High School in Bloomfield, Indiana, graduating in 1995. Small-town Indiana built the toughness, work ethic, and chip-on-the-shoulder mentality that defines everything he does.

⛳

The Lawn Mower Connection

As a kid in Solsberry, Dusty May mowed the lawn for Dr. Bob Rink, an assistant at Indiana University. That relationship opened the door to Assembly Hall. After one year playing college basketball at Oakland City University (an NAIA school of about 2,400 students), May recognized his future wasn’t as a player but as a coach — and Dr. Rink helped him get a student manager spot at Indiana. The rest is history.

🏈

The Bob Knight Education

From 1996 to 2000, Dusty May served as a student manager at Indiana University under Bob Knight — the most demanding, meticulous, legendary coach in the game. He soaked up everything. His ability to communicate complex concepts simply, his defense-first philosophy, his standards of preparation — all of it traces back to those years under Knight. May has said plainly: “There was zero chance I would be a college head coach right now if I didn’t have that experience under Knight.”

💕

Family: Anna, Jack, Charlie & Eli

Dusty and Anna May (née Nonte) were high school sweethearts from Bloomfield. They married in 2000. Anna is an occupational therapist and the steady anchor behind every milestone. They have three sons: Jack (born January 30, 2003) plays basketball at the University of Florida; Charlie (born September 18, 2004) plays basketball at Michigan — Dusty’s own son is on his roster; and Eli (born May 4, 2006). Anna to ESPN in 2026: “It’s definitely full circle, but we talk about it all the time. We want to pinch ourselves… I’m not surprised because I know how much he’s put into it and how hard he’s worked.”

1996–2000

Student Manager — Indiana University (under Bob Knight)

The foundation of everything. Four years absorbing Knight’s system, standards, and philosophy from the ground up. When the Final Four came to Indianapolis during this era, May and his fellow managers piled into a car, drove into the city, and wandered around hoping to bump into coaches — begging for a graduate assistant opportunity. He was a 20-year-old kid chasing a dream he couldn’t quite name yet.

2000–2002

Video & Administrative Staff — USC

Moved west and learned a different program, a different culture. Cut film. Broke down opponents. Paid early dues in the unsexy work that builds great coaches.

2002–2005

Video & Administrative Staff — Indiana University (under Mike Davis)

Back home at IU. On staff during Mike Davis’s 2002–03 run to the NCAA National Championship Game — May was in the building for one of the program’s last great runs. Three seasons contributing behind the scenes at Assembly Hall.

2005–2006

Assistant Coach — Eastern Michigan University (under Charlie Ramsey)

His first actual on-court coaching role. Ypsilanti, Michigan — not far from Ann Arbor, as fate would have it. Step one of the assistant coach ladder.

2006–2007

Assistant Coach — Murray State (under Billy Kennedy)

One year in the Ohio Valley Conference, developing his own voice as a recruiter and game planner under a respected head coach.

2007–2009

Assistant Coach — UAB (under Mike Davis)

Reunited with his Indiana connection Mike Davis at UAB. The Blazers went 45–23 over two seasons, reaching the NIT both years. May was building a reputation as a defensive-minded assistant who could recruit.

2009–2015

Assistant Coach — Louisiana Tech (under Kerry Rupp, then Mike White)

Six years in Ruston that defined his system. Under Kerry Rupp (2009–11) and then Mike White (2011–15), Louisiana Tech won the WAC title in 2013 and back-to-back Conference USA titles in 2014 and 2015. May was a key architect of those championship-caliber teams and built a close working relationship with White that would carry forward.

2015–2018

Assistant Coach — University of Florida (under Mike White)

Followed Mike White to the SEC. Three 20-win seasons with the Gators. The 2016–17 Gators reached the Elite Eight. May’s son Jack would later play at Florida — perhaps inspired by these years in Gainesville. Three seasons at the highest level of college basketball prepared him for the head coaching chair.

2018

🌟 Head Coach — Florida Atlantic University

Hired March 2018 to lead FAU. Inherited a program that had just endured seven consecutive losing seasons. His first mission: change the culture completely.

2022–23

⭐ FAU — FINAL FOUR — Houston

35–4. #9 seed. The greatest mid-major run in modern college basketball history. The nation went from never having heard of FAU to following every bounce of the ball. Dusty May won CBS Sports National Coach of the Year and became one of the most sought-after names in coaching.

2024

🌟 Head Coach — University of Michigan

Hired March 23, 2024 — less than 24 hours after FAU was eliminated by Northwestern in the first round of the 2024 Tournament. A 5-year deal at $3.75 million per year average. Official title: David and Meredith Kaplan Men’s Basketball Head Coach. He arrived in Ann Arbor and went to work.

2024–25

Michigan Year 1 — Big Ten Tournament Champions, Sweet 16

27–10 overall, 14–6 in the Big Ten (2nd place). Won the Big Ten Tournament championship — first since 2018. First coach in Big Ten history to win the conference tournament in his first season. NCAA Tournament: #5 seed, beat UC San Diego and Texas A&M before falling to #1 seed Auburn in the Sweet 16. One of the top-3 turnarounds in program history.

2025–26

🏆 Michigan — 2026 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS — Indianapolis

37–5. No. 1 overall seed. Beat Howard, Saint Louis, Alabama, Tennessee, Arizona, UConn. First Michigan title since 1989. First national champion with an all-transfer starting five. First team in NCAA history to score 90+ in five straight tournament games. Henry Iba Award. Big Ten Coach of the Year. Second year on the job. The circle is complete.

Nobody saw it coming. A #9 seed from Boca Raton, Florida. A program that had never reached the Sweet Sixteen. And a coach the country was about to learn everything about.

The 2022–23 Florida Atlantic Owls were the story of the NCAA Tournament. Not just as a bracket-buster — as a genuine team. Coach Dusty May’s system: suffocating defense, ball movement, role clarity, and a locker room that believed deeply in each other. They weren’t fluky. They were excellent.

May had inherited a program in 2018 that had endured seven straight losing seasons. By his sixth year, he had turned it into one that went 35–4 and played in the Final Four. That’s not luck. That’s culture built over years.

2023 FAU NCAA Tournament Run

Round	Opponent	Result
Round of 64 (#9 seed)	#8 Memphis	W, 66–65 (last-second buzzer beater)
Round of 32	#16 Fairleigh Dickinson	W, 78–70
Sweet 16	#4 Tennessee	W, 62–55
Elite Eight	#3 Kansas State	W → FINAL FOUR!
Final Four	#5 San Diego State	L (buzzer beater, Houston)

The Memphis game set the tone: down to the final seconds, FAU won on a last-second buzzer beater. Then came the stunning dispatching of #16 Fairleigh Dickinson — the team that had just pulled off the first #16-over-#1 upset in tournament history. FAU was unbothered. Then #4 Tennessee in the Sweet 16, a defensive masterclass. Then #3 Kansas State in the Elite Eight, and the Final Four was real.

After the Kansas State win, May gathered his team in the locker room and said the words that would become his coaching manifesto: “Guys, I sold you short. I underpromised. If we develop the right habits, we could play into April.”

The Final Four ended at the hands of San Diego State — on a buzzer beater, no less. But nobody remembered the ending nearly as much as the journey. The sport was introduced to Dusty May, and it liked what it saw.

Awards earned: CBS Sports National Coach of the Year, Conference USA Coach of the Year, NABC District 17 Coach of the Year (all 2022–23).

Michigan needed a builder. The program had just gone 8–24 under Juwan Howard — the worst record since 1960–61. Less than 24 hours after FAU was eliminated by Northwestern in the 2024 Tournament, Dusty May’s phone rang. Ann Arbor was calling.

At his introductory press conference, May set the tone for what he believes: “The players are choosing us. They do more homework and intel on us than we do on them.” He understood the modern transfer portal era better than most, calling for buyout clauses as a form of mutual accountability between coach and player.

Year 1 — 2024–25

27–10

Big Ten record: 14–6 (2nd place)
Won Big Ten Tournament championship — first since 2018
First Big Ten coach ever to win conference tournament in first season
NCAA Tournament #5 seed: beat UC San Diego (68–65), beat Texas A&M (91–79), lost to #1 Auburn in Sweet 16
Described as top-3 turnaround in program history

Year 2 — 2025–26 — 🏆 National Champions

37–5

29–2 regular season — No. 1 overall seed (4th in program history)
First Big Ten team ever to go undefeated on the road while winning 19 conference games
Defeated Howard, Saint Louis, Alabama, Tennessee, Arizona & UConn in the tournament
First Michigan national title since 1989 — 37-year drought ended
First national champion with an all-transfer starting five in NCAA history
First team ever to score 90+ in five consecutive tournament games
15 All-Conference honors · Henry Iba Award · Big Ten Coach of the Year
Largest two-season turnaround in NCAA Tournament era (+29 wins from 8–24)

Key Players, 2025–26

Yaxel Lendeborg

Big Ten Player of the Year · Elite Eight MOP

15.2 PPG · 7.0 RPG · 3.3 APG

Transfer from UAB. Only played 11 varsity games in high school. Sprained his MCL and ankle vs. Arizona in the Final Four — and came back in the second half to hit two three-pointers. Played 36 minutes in the championship game on pure will. At halftime vs. UConn he said: “I feel awful. I feel super weak.” His teammates rallied him: “We needed Mad Yax, not Sad Yax.” He scored 7 of his 13 points in the final 6 minutes. That is who this team is.

Aday Mara

Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year

7’3” Center · School-record 100 blocks

Transfer from UCLA. Dropped a career-high 26 points on 11-for-16 shooting against Arizona in the Final Four, obliterating the Wildcats in the first half. In the championship vs. UConn, threw down a two-handed alley-oop slam off a Roddy Gayle lob. An elite defender and passer disguised as a center.

Elliot Cadeau

🏆 Final Four Most Outstanding Player

19 pts · 8/9 FT · Championship game

Transfer from UNC. Bet on himself, bet on Dusty May, won the whole thing. Scored 19 points and went 8-for-9 from the free-throw line in the championship game vs. UConn. Named the 2026 Final Four Most Outstanding Player. After the win, went on Instagram Live and delivered his message: “They said I couldn’t do it. They tried to tell me I was [expletive], man.”

Morez Johnson Jr.

Transfer from Illinois

13.2 PPG · 12 pts / 10 reb in Championship

Double-double in the national championship game: 12 points and 10 rebounds vs. UConn. A physical, versatile forward who brought toughness and scoring punch at every stage of the tournament run.

Charlie May

Walk-on / Roster Member

Born September 18, 2004

Dusty May’s own son. Charlie May is on the Michigan Wolverines roster, playing for his father at the highest level. As storylines go, it doesn’t get more special than this.

Will Tschetter

Big Ten Sportsmanship Award

Three-and-D Veteran

The veteran glue guy. Three-point shooting, lockdown defense, and the leadership of a player who has been in the program and knows what it takes.

Trey McKenney

Big Ten All-Freshman Team

The Future Arriving Early

A freshman who plays like a veteran. Michigan’s future is already here.

HISTORIC: Michigan is the FIRST school in NCAA Tournament history to score 90+ points in five consecutive tournament games. They held every opponent to a season-low field goal percentage. Final record: 37–5. National champions. First Michigan title since 1989.

Michigan’s 2026 NCAA Tournament Path

Round	Opponent	Score
Round of 64	#16 Howard	W, 101–80
Round of 32	#9 Saint Louis	W, 95–72
Sweet 16	#5 Alabama	W, 90–77
Elite Eight	#6 Tennessee	W, 95–62 — Lendeborg 27 pts, Cadeau 10 ast
Final Four	#1 Arizona Wildcats	W, 91–73 — Mara 26 pts, McKenney 16, Cadeau 13/10 ast
🏆 National Championship	#2 UConn Huskies	W, 69–63 — Cadeau 19 pts (MOP) · 70,720 fans · Lucas Oil Stadium

🏆 Full Circle in Indianapolis

As a young student manager for Bob Knight’s Indiana Hoosiers in the late 1990s, Dusty May piled into a car with fellow managers and drove into Indianapolis during a Final Four weekend. They wandered the streets, hoping to bump into coaches, begging for a graduate assistant opportunity, using the Knight name as their only calling card.

On April 6, 2026 — in that same city, at Lucas Oil Stadium, before 70,720 fans — Dusty May cut down the nets as the national champion. An Indiana native who grew up in Solsberry, coached his son Charlie on the roster, and won it all in his home state. The dreamer became the champion.

“What a way to wrap up the ‘25–’26 college basketball season with this group. I want to begin by thanking last year’s team at Michigan. We came up a little bit short, but those guys laid the foundation, established an identity for us, and also helped attract these guys to come in and chase this dream together.” — Dusty May, post-championship press conference, April 6, 2026

“If you’d told me we would shoot it this poorly and (be) dominated on the glass and still find a way to win, I don’t know if I would have believed you… This team just found a way all season.” — Dusty May, on winning the title despite shooting 2-for-13 from three

“This trophy is yours. You brought it all year, every home game.” — Dusty May, to Michigan fans at Crisler Center, April 7, 2026

The sign in the Michigan locker room says it in two words: APRIL HABITS. Every drill, every film session, every practice repetition is asking the same question: is this the kind of habit that will let us play in April? Because the players who reach April are the ones who built the right habits in October, November, December — every day of the season.

April Habits

The central philosophy. After the 2023 FAU Elite Eight win, May told his team he had “sold them short” — that the right daily habits make April possible. Every Michigan practice is built toward championship habits. The sign on the locker room wall makes it official.

Psychological Safety

Players need to feel safe making mistakes. May builds environments where risk-taking and growth are encouraged, not punished. He gives players credit: “Usually, if a guy gets better, he deserves 90 to 95% of it.” Coaches guide; players grow.

Overlooked & Underestimated

He was a student manager, not a player. He built a mid-major into a Final Four team. He finds players others pass on — Yaxel Lendeborg played just 11 varsity high school games — and makes them stars. Chip-on-the-shoulder energy is a feature, not a bug.

Culture Travels

He built it at FAU. He rebuilt it at Michigan. The culture is portable because it’s authentic: accountability, preparation, chemistry. “I try to recruit guys that seem like they’re fun to be around,” he says. Team chemistry is not soft — it’s strategic.

On Bob Knight’s Influence

“His ability to take complex concepts and make them seem simple, make players understand in a quick, efficient manner. Efficiency of language… There was zero chance I would be a college head coach right now if I didn’t have that experience under Knight.” — Dusty May

🏆 2026 NCAA National Champions — Michigan’s first title since 1989

37 Wins in 2025–26 — a Michigan program record

69–63 Championship final score vs. UConn · 70,720 fans · Lucas Oil Stadium

91–73 Final Four blowout of #1 Arizona — Michigan shot 57.1% from the field

37 Years since Michigan’s last title (1989 → 2026)

5 Straight tournament games with 90+ points — first team in NCAA history

89% Free-throw shooting in the championship (25-for-28) — won the game at the line

5 Transfers in the starting five — first all-transfer starting five to win a national title

+29 Win improvement over two seasons (8–24 to 37–5) — largest in NCAA Tournament era

95–62 Elite Eight dismantling of Tennessee — Lendeborg 27 pts, Cadeau 10 ast

11 Varsity high school games played by Yaxel Lendeborg, Big Ten Player of the Year

2 Year Dusty May won it all at Michigan — second year on the job

🏆 After winning the championship, to Michigan fans

“This trophy is yours. You brought it all year, every home game.”

— Dusty May, Crisler Center, April 7, 2026

Elliot Cadeau, Final Four MOP — after winning

“They said I couldn’t do it. They tried to tell me I was [expletive], man.”

— Elliot Cadeau, Instagram Live, April 6, 2026

Roddy Gayle to Lendeborg at halftime of the championship

“We needed Mad Yax, not Sad Yax.”

— Roddy Gayle Jr., on rallying Lendeborg in the championship game

Full Circle — Indianapolis, 2026

“I still remember as a junior, senior manager when the Final Four was here in Indianapolis myself, and all of us managers wanted to find a way in coaching in any capacity would pile in a car and just get out and hopefully bump into any coach and find a way to make an impression, obviously using the Coach Knight badge to get in any conversation. Just a full circle moment from chasing around coaches trying to beg for a GA spot, to be back here with this team, it’s surreal.”

— Dusty May, 2026 Final Four press conference, Indianapolis

Anna May to ESPN, 2026

“It’s definitely full circle, but we talk about it all the time. We want to pinch ourselves… I’m not surprised because I know how much he’s put into it and how hard he’s worked.”

— Anna May (Dusty’s wife), to ESPN, 2026 Final Four

On Bob Knight, his coaching mentor

“There was zero chance I would be a college head coach right now if I didn’t have that experience under Knight.”

— Dusty May

At his Michigan introductory press conference, 2024

“The players are choosing us. They do more homework and intel on us than we do on them.”

— Dusty May, Michigan introductory press conference, March 2024

On giving credit to players

“Usually, if a guy gets better, he deserves 90 to 95% of it.”

— Dusty May

The April Habits origin — FAU locker room after Elite Eight, 2023

“Guys, I sold you short. I underpromised. If we develop the right habits, we could play into April.”

— Dusty May, to his FAU team after beating Kansas State, 2023

DUSTY
APRIL

Why Dusty April?

The "April Habits" Origin Story

About Dusty May

Early Life: Solsberry, Indiana

The Lawn Mower Connection

The Bob Knight Education

Family: Anna, Jack, Charlie & Eli

The Journey

Student Manager — Indiana University (under Bob Knight)

Video & Administrative Staff — USC

Video & Administrative Staff — Indiana University (under Mike Davis)

Assistant Coach — Eastern Michigan University (under Charlie Ramsey)

Assistant Coach — Murray State (under Billy Kennedy)

Assistant Coach — UAB (under Mike Davis)

Assistant Coach — Louisiana Tech (under Kerry Rupp, then Mike White)

Assistant Coach — University of Florida (under Mike White)

🌟 Head Coach — Florida Atlantic University

⭐ FAU — FINAL FOUR — Houston

🌟 Head Coach — University of Michigan

Michigan Year 1 — Big Ten Tournament Champions, Sweet 16

🏆 Michigan — 2026 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS — Indianapolis

The Cinderella Story

2023 FAU NCAA Tournament Run

Maize & Blue

Key Players, 2025–26

2026 🏆 Run

Michigan’s 2026 NCAA Tournament Path

🏆 Full Circle in Indianapolis

April Habits

April Habits

Psychological Safety

Overlooked & Underestimated

Culture Travels

On Bob Knight’s Influence

By the Numbers

In His Own Words