FAU's Dusty May turns down Louisville for Michigan

Louisville will not be hiring Florida Atlantic’s Dusty May. Instead, the coach who took the Owls to a Final Four and back-to-back NCAA Tournaments after just one March Madness appearance in the school’s history will be taking his talents to Michigan.

With a 126-69 overall record and sitting at 60-13 in his last two seasons, May finalized a deal with the Wolverines late Saturday evening. That left the Cardinals, who had zeroed in on the 47-year-old and felt were close to an agreement earlier in the day, sources tell KSR, left empty-handed.

May also considered Vanderbilt before turning down both programs and landing on Michigan.

He replaces Juwan Howard, who was fired after five seasons with an 87-72 overall record, but 8-24 last season and just 24-40 over his last two.

What does that mean elsewhere? For one, Louisville is still looking for its next head coach, with Seton Hall’s Shaheen Holloway emerging as a top candidate, followed by College of Charleston’s Pat Kelsey and Kansas State’s Jerome Tang, among others. But the Cards will not have their top candidate on the sidelines next season.

It also impacts Kentucky, as John Calipari was rumored as a potential option to replace Howard at Michigan following his departure. Those rumblings grew louder following the Wildcats’ first-round loss to Oakland on Thursday, the Wolverines instead opting to go (relatively) cheaper and younger.

If Mitch Barnhart is hoping Calipari takes another job elsewhere to help out on the buyout, it won’t be in Ann Arbor — and there isn’t a clear alternative option from here.