On Thursday, it was announced that FAU men’s basketball coach Dusty May won the CBS Coach of the Year for the 2022-23 season. 

News of May’s latest accolade came hours before CBS also reported that he will sign a “lucrative,” multiyear contract extension worth more than $1 million per year when the season concludes.

May took over in 2018, and has taken the program to unprecedented new heights, which is now being recognized in the Coach of the Year Award. Since his arrival, the Owls have not had a losing season under their belt in five years.

Before taking his first head coaching position at FAU, he was an assistant coach at the University of Florida. 

Before coaching at Florida and holding positions at several other programs, May got his start working under his mentor, college basketball icon, coach Bob Knight as a team manager at Indiana University. 

Despite the upward trend they’ve been on since his arrival, this past season May led the Owls to heights previously only dreamed about at FAU. 

They started the season hot, upsetting Florida on the road and taking down Bryant University—both teams that qualified for last season’s NCAA Tournament—as part of a 20-game winning streak. They eventually finished the season an undefeated 17-0 at home, a C-USA best 18-2 in conference play, while winning their first C-USA Championship. All that qualified them for their second tournament in program history, where they’re now on an unprecedented run that’s led to the Final Four where they’ll meet San Diego State on Saturday.

May was previously snubbed from the NCAA’s Naismith National Coach of the Year finalist list; Since then, all four of the coaches who did make that list have been eliminated from the tournament.

In May’s staff profile, FAU Vice President and Athletic Director Brian White said, “Dusty was my number one choice, and I am thrilled to have him lead our men’s basketball program.” 

Five years later, White’s decision to bring May aboard might culminate in FAU reaching the sport’s pinnacle as the Owls sit two wins away from a national championship.

On Saturday, May will lead the Owls into NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, where they’ll face the San Diego State University Aztecs in the national semifinal. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:09 p.m. EST and will be broadcast by CBS.

Maddox Greenberg is the Business Manager for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or DM via Facebook @maddox greenberg