Less than one week after former head basketball coach Michael Curry was fired, Dusty May was officially announced as the ninth head men’s basketball coach at Florida Atlantic in a press release.

May comes over after spending three seasons as an assistant at the University of Florida, where he helped the Gators reach the NCAA tournament twice while accumulating a record of 69-37 overall.

He previously spent the four seasons prior as an assistant at Louisiana Tech University, also under current Gators Head Coach Mike White. Mike White is the older brother of current Athletic Director Brian White.

“Dusty was my number one choice, and I am thrilled to have him lead our men’s basketball program,” said Brian White in a FAU press release. “This hire is a clear demonstration of the ambition we have for our basketball program, our athletic department and our university. Dusty will bring tremendous passion, determination and work ethic to this position. The future of the FAU men’s basketball program is bright.”

After serving as a student manager for University of Indiana’s Men’s basketball, May started his career as an administrative assistant/ video coordinator at USC. He later returned to his alma mater in 2003 for three seasons, serving in an administrative role prior to his first assistant coaching job at Eastern Michigan.

He also has served as an assistant at Murray State and UAB before going to Louisiana Tech in 2009.  

He inherits a team that loses four of their five starters. He will look to improve upon a 12-18 season, the team’s best record in four years, that culminated with a 83-72 loss to UAB in the first round of the C-USA tournament.

“The opportunity to recruit in such a fertile region, the momentum this university is enjoying and the enormous potential here are ideal starting points,” May said in the release.

“We will be winners here, and we will play with tremendous passion and energy,” he said. “The vision of President John Kelly, the board of trustees and the athletic department under the leadership of Brian White made this move an easy decision. I can’t wait to get started.”

He is set to be introduced tomorrow, Friday March 23, at 11:00 a.m in the Founders’ Lounge of the Tom Oxley Athletic Center.

The terms of his five year deal were not released. The University Press requested the conditions of May’s contract, but have not received them as of publication time.

Matt Brown is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @mattyb407.