Dusty May stays at Michigan as UNC coaching search shrinks

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Apr 6, 2026 - 04:00
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Dusty May stays at Michigan as UNC coaching search shrinks

For the second time this week, North Carolina’s coaching wish list has gotten shorter, as Dusty May informed Michigan that he will stay at the school, ESPN’s Pete Thamel first reported.

May is the second coach to take his name out of UNC’s search, as Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd did the same. Both coaches spent the week leading up to the Final Four fielding questions about the North Carolina head coaching job and their reported interest in it.

May has led Michigan, which is 36-3 this season, back to the national championship game for the first time since 2018. Before he landed in Ann Arbor, he was the head coach at Florida Atlantic from 2018 to 2024, leading the Owls to the Final Four in 2023. They were a buzzer-beater shot away from advancing to the title game in a 72-71 loss to San Diego State.

The Tar Heels were already at a crossroads before May’s decision on Sunday. In addition to Lloyd and May being taken off consideration, Alabama coach Nate Oats signed a lucrative extension Sunday. Boston Celtics president Brad Stevens and Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger also pulled themselves out of the running earlier in the search last month.

That leaves Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan as perhaps the most prominent candidate. Donovan captured back-to-back national titles at Florida in 2006 and 2007, but he is not expected to decide on the UNC job until after the NBA season ends April 12. That timeline complicates North Carolina’s search, as the college basketball transfer portal opens April 7, five days before Donovan is likely to make his call.

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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball: Dusty May stays at Michigan; coaching list dwindles

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