The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546232
36 THE WOLVERINE ❱ SEPTEMBER 2026 BY CHRIS BALAS W hen Dusty May left Michigan abruptly for the Dallas Maver- icks in June, many figured the Wolver- ines would turn to assistant coach Mike Boynton Jr. to take over the program. Boynton, after all, had been a head coach at the high-major level, spending seven years leading the Oklahoma State pro- gram, and had been May's right-hand man in helping lead U-M to the 2026 national championship. After doing some poking around and looking at other potential options, Michigan athletics director Warde Manuel and Co. provided Boynton a two-year contract with only the first year fully guaranteed, adding he'd have to reach two of several markers they set for him in Year 1. Among them: winning 24 regular-season games, capturing a Big Ten Tournament title, reaching the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, and finishing top four in the Big Ten regular- season standings. Boynton was also reportedly given $250,000 as a bonus for keeping the ros- ter together — all but junior guard L.J. Cason decided to return — and a vote of confidence from May to lead the program. "He's a proven head coach, and there's nothing like the experience of sitting in that seat, especially in a pres- sure cooker environment like the Big 12," May told Michigan play-by-play voice Brian Boesch on the "Defend the Block" podcast, noting his time at FAU prior to Michigan helped him "learn, grow, experiment, throw stuff at the wall, and be really, really bad before we could be great." " I d o n ' t t h i n k a n y f i rs t - t i m e ❱ MICHIGAN BASKETBALL Mike Boynton Jr. Is Ready To Prove Himself Boynton has the daunting task of coaching the defending national champions with only one guaranteed year on his two-year contract. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY