The most optimistic Florida Atlantic University fan couldn’t have predicted that Dusty May would lead the team to a Final Four berth five years after taking over as head coach. Dusty May, who’s never had a losing season, has turned FAU into a winning machine – the team’s Elite 8 victory over Kansas City guaranteed it would finish the season with more wins than any other Division 1 program.
After the victory, the victor’s friends and family flooded the stadium. Almost in disbelief, Dusty embraced his wife, Anna Nonte, and their kids.
Anna Nonte convinced Dusty not to back out of his FAU contract
Dusty May and his wife have known each other since childhood. They grew up in a small, nameless town in Indiana’s Eastern Greene County. Dusty and Anna were high school sweethearts at Eastern Greene High School.
Anna attended Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, about 50 miles from Dusty’s Indiana University in Bloomington. The couple’s relationship blossomed, culminating in marriage in August 2000.
Dusty may have backed out of his FAU contract without Anna’s intervention. He signed the head coach contract after promising discussions with athletic director Brian White, but without seeing the facilities. After viewing the small and outdated facilities, Dusty opined that he’d ‘committed career suicide’.
CBS News reports that hours after signing the contract, Dusty was sobbing in his hotel room, looking for ways to back out. “I’m not a big cryer,” Dusty said. “But I burst into tears like a baby.”
“I think a lot of it was just fatigue and being completely overwhelmed,” Anna opined. “We weren’t looking to make a move. The job kind of fell in his lap.”
Anna, an occupational therapist, advised Dusty to toughen up. “We have that kind of relationship,” Dusty stated. “‘You’ll figure it out.’ It was like, ‘It’s time to get to work with this decision.’”
With his wife’s support, Dusty faced the challenge head-on – what a job he’s done. Dusty has changed FAU’s fortunes in five years. Thanks to the team’s qualification into the Final Four, the facilities will receive a much-needed upgrade, improving the program’s status and increasing the chances of consistent success. Anna said:
“I’m just so happy for the guys. I mean, we love them. My husband loves them like his own. And they’ve worked so hard for this. And I think that’s what’s been so amazing about this group is that they’re all about each other. Just how hard they’ve worked and what they’ve put into it. It’s unbelievable.”
Dusty and Anna’s sons have followed their father into basketball
Dusty and Anna welcomed Jack in late January 2003. He’s played basketball since childhood and plays for the University of Florida Gators.
Jack’s younger brother, Charlie, arrived in September 2004. Like Jack, he played for Saint Andrew High as a guard. After graduation, Charlie joined the University of Central Florida Knights. Eli May, the youngest May sibling, arrived in May 2006. Though considerably shorter than his brothers, Eli plays in the junior basketball leagues.
Dusty shares a close relationship with his sons. “If you know me, you know how I feel about my boys!” Dusty wrote alongside a Facebook photo of the May boys in late September 2022.
Dusty consulted his sons before taking the job at FAU. Thanks to Dusty’s career, the boys have lived in Indiana, Kentucky, California, Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida. Dusty’s job at FAU required him to move the family from Gainesville, Florida, to Boca Raton.
“He [Dusty] accepted it after speaking to our boys,” Anna said. “That was a big deal. Our boys were in high school. We made sure that they were on board before he accepted it.”
