Dusty May Michigan Contract: What Does It Say?

Dusty May is Michigan’s men’s basketball coach, but his roots at Indiana run deep.

May was born in Terre Haute. He grew up in Greene County, Ind. – which is adjacent to Monroe County, where Bloomington and Indiana University are located. He is an Indiana graduate, and he was a student manager at Indiana from 1996-2000 at the end of Bob Knight’s tenure as head coach.

With the news that Indiana coach Mike Woodson is working out a separation from Indiana, and with Michigan coming to Indiana for a 1 p.m. ET game on Saturday, the attention paid to May will hit a fever pitch.

Inevitably, May is brought up as a potential head coaching target. May has a career record of 143-74, took unheralded Florida Atlantic to the 2023 Final Four, and already has enjoyed success in his first year at Michigan. The Wolverines are in the thick of the Big Ten race, just a half-game off the Big Ten lead, and the Hoosiers are mired in mediocrity with a 5-7 conference record.

Wanting a coach and getting a coach – especially when they’re gainfully employed by another school – are two different matters. There are contracts to consider, and usually, a coach leaving a school before his contract expires requires him to pay his former school compensation to break the contract.

It should be made clear that May has not expressed interest in the Indiana job, at least publicly. If he is interested, there are terms in his contract he has to abide by to avoid being in violation of that contract.

What is in May’s contract at Michigan? May’s contract was obtained by Hoosiers On SI from the University of Michigan via a public records’ request.

May’s contract runs from March 2024 thru April 2029. He is paid $3.625 million for the 2024-25 season in base salary. His base salary increases by $100,000 per season through the life of the contract.

There are performance bonuses that can increase his compensation. All of them are tied to regular season Big Ten accomplishments, postseason awards or postseason advancement. May has retention bonuses built into his contract, but those $300,000 bonuses don’t kick in until 2027.

Michigan also paid May a $1,513,000 signing bonus when he was hired in 2024.

That’s important, because if May resigns from Michigan before April 1, 2025, he must repay that signing bonus in full within 30 days of termination of the contract.

"If the Head Coach resigns his position as Head Coach on or before April 1, 2025 pursuant to section 4.04, he shall repay the Signing Bonus to the University in full within 30 days of his termination of this Agreeement, provided that the Head Coach may offset the amount of such repayment by the amount of any buyout owed by the University," the contract states.

If May decided to leave Michigan, the amount he would have to pay Michigan back (with “reasonable written notice”) would be as follows:

• April 1, 2025 or before: $5,000,000 + 1,513,000 signing bonus. Total is $6,513,000.
• Between April 1, 2025-April 30, 2025: $5,000,000
• Between May 1, 2025-April 30, 2026: $4,000,000
• Between May 1, 2026-April 30, 2027: $2,000,000
• Between May 1, 2027-April 30, 2028: $1,000,000
• Between May 1, 2028-April 30, 2029: $500,000

There is one clause in May’s contract listed under “termination” by Michigan that would pertain to any school that May might want to leave Michigan for.

“Participation in any job searches or interviews for employment outside of the University of Michigan while employed by the University without knowledge of the Athletic Director or failure to provide the Athletic Director with actual notice within 24 hours of the Head Coach or the Head Coach’s representatives engaging in substantive discussions regarding potential employment with another employer,” the contract clause states.

There is no specific mention of Indiana anywhere in May’s contract. In other words, there is no clause that would allow May to leave for Indiana at the exclusion of other schools.

On the other hand, there is nothing in May’s contract that stipulates he cannot go to Indiana. Those types of clauses are occasionally written into coaching contracts.

In a contract signed in 2021, Indiana women’s basketball coach Teri Moren has a “covenant not to compete” written into her contract that prevents her from seeking Purdue’s head coaching job at the penalty of $10,000,000 if she violated that part of her contract.