Can Final Four-bound FAU afford to keep coach Dusty May and fend off Penn State, other major programs?
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NEW YORK — With Dusty May's brand soaring during Florida Atlantic University's run to the Sweet 16, the school is working on a contract it hopes will keep the rising star in Boca Raton.
May is earning $544,975 this season in base salary. FAU is hoping it can fend off any schools that could come calling by putting together a creative package with a substantial jump in pay and long-term security, according to a source connected to the university.
The difficulty is competing with major programs that could offer at least $2 million a year. FAU is hoping to counter that by adding more years to May's contract and hoping the school has an advantage because of its location.
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The location means living in, as they like to say at FAU, "paradise," as opposed to Providence, R.I., Lubbock, Texas, or any other city where a major opening could occur.
Like State College, Pennsylvania.
With Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry reportedly headed to Notre Dame, May's name was at the top of the list of candidates to replace Shrewsberry. Many cited his background in the Big Ten as an Indiana alumnus. May also worked for longtime Hoosiers coach Bobby Knight as a student manager.
May, 46, took over an FAU program that had five winning seasons in its previous 25 years. He matched that total in his first five years, including the Owls' current run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Entering Thursday night's game against Tennessee at Madison Square Garden, FAU had won a school-record 33 games, including a 20-game winning streak, and captured the Conference USA regular-season title and postseason championship.
FAU lost football coach Lane Kiffin to Ole Miss
Being a mid-major, FAU knows what it's like to lose a successful coach to a Power Five program. After Lane Kiffin led the football team to two Conference USA titles in three years, he left for Mississippi. Kiffin went from making close to $1 million per year at FAU to $3.9 million in his first year at Ole Miss. He since has signed a new contract that peaks at $9 million a year in 2025 and 2026.
The good news is basketball is not football, and the salary structure from the top down is not nearly as lucrative as football.
The best comparison to May could be South Carolina's Lamont Paris. Paris, 48, was hired one year ago after spending five years at mid-major Chattanooga, his first head coaching job. After going 22-43 his first two years, the Mocs improved his last three years, going 27-8 and winning the Southern Conference in Paris' final year at the school. That came with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament where Chattanooga lost in the first round.
Paris made the move to the SEC and was given a contract starting at $2.2 million. Now, he's back to trying to build a program with the Gamecocks, who finished this season 11-21, 4-14 in the conference. South Carolina's 11 wins were the fewest in the SEC.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dusty May's new contract: Can Florida Atlantic basketball keep coach?
