How national championship has changed day-to-day life for Michigan coach Dusty May: 'More than I ever dreamed'

Michigan Wolverines basketball head coach Dusty May is simply and forever known as a “national champion.” While he’s turned the page to working toward making that “two-time national champion,” there have been some cool moments over the last two months, even if he has less free time than before.

“It’s certainly changed the day to day even more than I ever dreamed or anticipated,” May said on the ‘Brad Galli Show.’ “We’re still adjusting to the demands outside of coaching on our time, on our family’s time. But they’re all good problems. These are first-world problems. But, at some point, we’ll have to really circle the wagons and get back to coaching our team.”

May has enjoyed signing merchandise with notes signifying Michigan’s national championship.

“People have requested some pretty cool slogans,” May said. “‘Natty champs’ is obviously one, and then just ‘Hail yes,’ I think that’s a cool one, as well. It’s been fun.

“I just think back to when I was a kid or being a fan of the game, just to have those things that just every time you walk past them you think of that group, that experience or those moments in life. Very proud to bring so much joy to so many people because of the way our team played.”

Accomplishing what Michigan did last season, going 37-3 overall and 19-1 in the Big Ten, was a team effort, and May is the first to point that out. He was thinking of all those who helped the Wolverines along the way as the crowd cheered for the news of his contract extension at U-M’s national championship celebration days after winning the title.

“It’s very flattering to be appreciated for a job well done,” May said. “We spend a lot of time and take a lot of pride in trying to do the job very well, and any time you receive an extension, even if it’s a contract extension that there’s no more money involved, it’s a sign that you’re appreciated and a job well done.

“We’re not arrogant enough to think that it was just us. So many people contributed to that team and played a part. So, any time that you receive an applause like that, you realize it’s a group applause, but also it is appreciated, because our entire staff, we sacrifice a lot and try to be great at what we do.”

Since May arrived at Michigan in March 2024, he’s talked about striving to achieve something “eternal,” forging a lifelong bond between a team. His first group did that by winning the Big Ten Tournament title, and then the next one won the Big Ten regular season and national championship. Those tight relationships formed through hard work and sacrifice were on full display the last two years, and those teams will be recognized for years to come.

“Obviously, we want a deep, authentic relationship with our players,” the Michigan coach said. “We want a lifelong relationship, where we’re always there for them. I think back to how much my coaches meant to me and still mean to me to this day; I’m here because of the people that poured into me as a younger player and younger coach. So, we just want to pay that forward and be there for our guys.

“I think we have a deep level of appreciation for each other in our program. Our coaches appreciate our players, our players appreciate our coaches and our players certainly appreciate each other.”

In the coming weeks, Michigan’s full 2026-27 team will assemble and get to work on hanging more banners at Crisler Center. May and his staff turned their attention to roster building right after the season so they’d have a chance to do just that in a year’s time.

“I get frustrated, so many people talk about being process-oriented, and then you watch how they move and listen to what they say, and very little of it is process-oriented,” May noted. “We take a lot of pride in that, of doing good work, of getting to the next thing.

“I think just naturally being programmed to always be looking forward and never really looking into the rearview, except for what you can learn from the past. It’s not necessarily always a great attribute, but it’s how we do what we do. It’s always looking toward the next thing and preparing for that.”

It’s full steam ahead on attempting to get back to the Final Four.

“Obviously, when you’re in that moment, the next big thing would be the Final Four in Detroit,” May stated.