Dusty May’s departure and Michigan’s $11.5M probe may be connected
Dusty May left Michigan for the Dallas Mavericks on June 22, less than three months after guiding the Wolverines to the 2026 NCAA national championship, and the reasons behind the move may go beyond what was publicly stated.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Adam Schefter, and Shams Charania reported he was finalizing a deal to become the Mavericks’ head coach.
May compiled a 64-13 record across two seasons at Michigan, turning a program that went 8-24 the year before his arrival into national champions. Sources close to May cited the turbulent state of college athletics and the opportunity to coach Dallas forward Cooper Flagg as the primary drivers of his decision.
A separate account circulating on social media points to a more immediate factor:
May reportedly read the forthcoming report from the law firm investigating Michigan’s athletic department, and what he encountered there helped shape his exit. The claim has not been confirmed by major reporting outlets and should be treated as a rumor at this stage.
Michigan’s investigation provided context May reportedly could not ignore
What the report contains remains largely sealed. Michigan hired Chicago-based law firm Jenner & Block on Nov 13, 2025, after a tip surfaced that football head coach Sherrone Moore was involved inappropriately with a staff member, Paige Shiver.
Dusty May is rumored to have left Michigan due to reading a report on the Wolverine’s athletic program following an investigation conducted by a Chicago law firm. The reports release is expected to be imminent.
Michigan hired Jenner & Block in November 2025 after an alleged tip… pic.twitter.com/3Lcwo17bOP
— Recruits CFB (@recruits_cfb) June 23, 2026
Moore was fired on Dec 10, 2025. He later pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors and received 18 months’ probation. Shiver said the relationship ran for four years and was an “open secret” within the football building, with department leadership aware of it well before Moore’s dismissal.
The scope widened from there. Michigan Regent Jordan Acker was alleged to have sent lewd messages about a Democratic strategist and a female UM student, with his legal team disputing the authenticity of the screenshots.
Former assistant Matt Weiss was federally indicted in March 2025 on 24 counts for allegedly hacking into more than 3,300 student athlete accounts across more than 100 universities to obtain intimate photographs.
By March 2026, Jenner & Block had billed the university over $11.5 million, with April costs still undisclosed. Michigan subsequently confirmed hiring a second outside firm, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, in late April.
This is the second time in three seasons Michigan has needed new coaches for both football and men’s basketball simultaneously. CBS Sports noted that not since Larry Brown left Kansas for the Spurs in 1988 had a national title-winning coach departed so soon after winning.
May leaves behind a program carrying a national championship and an institutional investigation that is still not fully resolved.
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