New Michigan Wolverines head coach Dusty May. Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Why Dusty May chose Michigan over Louisville

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 3/25/24

Dusty May will be the next head basketball coach at Michigan after he chose the Wolverines over Louisville.

There was heavy speculation that the Cardinals were aiming to hire May until news came on Saturday saying that May instead was being hired by Michigan.

Why did the former Florida Atlantic coach prefer Michigan to Louisville? According to a report, May did not feel comfortable with the Louisville fan base.

May is friends with Indiana State head coach Josh Schertz. On ESPN Radio, host Bob Valvano said that May told Schertz that May didn’t feel comfortable with Louisville fans and even received death threats from them.

“I didn’t feel comfortable. I was getting death threats,” May reportedly told Schertz regarding the Louisville job.

You can hear Valvano share the information on the radio:

.@espnVshow spoke today about a conversation he had with Indiana State HC Josh Schertz over the weekend.

After finding out Schertz & Dusty May were good friends, Bob asked why didn’t Dusty take the Louisville job.

Schertz then told Bob, Dusty didn’t like the vitriol and… pic.twitter.com/rX4yfL9qMc

— Jeff Lightsy Jr. (@jlightsy7) March 25, 2024

May coached FAU from 2018-2024. The program went 126–69 under him and reached the Final Four last season. They followed up last year’s 35-4 season with a 25-9 campaign this year that also resulted in an NCAA Tournament berth.

The 47-year-old got a five-year deal from Michigan worth $3.75 million per year.

Louisville, which has traditionally been a power in college basketball, went 12-52 over the last two seasons under Kenny Payne. The school’s fan base is restless over the poor state of the program.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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