Dusty May says he'll sign extension to remain at Florida Atlantic after Final Four season
HOUSTON — Florida Atlantic coach Dusty May will not be hitting the job market after this Final Four, confirming Friday that he intends to sign a new long-term contract and return to the Owls next season.
“I learned a long time ago you never mess with happy,” he said. “And so I know what makes me happy, and right now at this point in my career I couldn’t be any more pleased and happy with where we are and just excited to continue building.”
CBS Sports reported Thursday night that May’s salary is expected to be elevated above $1 million annually and that FAU has committed to millions of dollars in facility improvements.
May currently makes $544,975 with a salary pool for assistants and support staff of $445,000.
Even with a large bump in salary, May will not be among the highest-paid coaches next season when the Owls transition to the American Athletic Conference. But with but one all of Florida Atlantic’s key players eligible to return next season, they will likely be a preseason top-10 team barring any unexpected defections and have a good chance to make another deep tournament run.
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Florida Atlantic has also been helped by the speed of the coaching carousel, where nearly all of the attractive jobs have been filled. May said the basic framework of the extension offered by Florida Atlantic hasn’t changed in several weeks.
“This was always on the table, but I felt obligated to focus on our season and our team versus all the other stuff, the peripheral stuff that goes on,” he said. “Nothing’s really changed, but let’s go ahead and put it out so we know what our intentions are, even though nothing was done differently yesterday except just releasing what our intentions were from the beginning.”
This contract, of course, will not insulate FAU from speculation about May’s future next season should they come close to replicating their 35-3 record. And May’s ties to the Indiana program, where he was a student manager under Bob Knight, will always be a backburner topic should Mike Woodson struggle.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dusty May staying at Florida Atlantic after Final Four run, coach says
