Florida International announced what could end up as a 10-year agreement on Tuesday with international recording artist, Grammy winner and entrepreneur Armando Christian Pérez — the Miami native better known as Pitbull — to put his name on their on-campus stadium.

Pérez will pay $1.2 million annually for the next five years, the university said, for the naming rights. He will have an option in August 2029 to extend the deal for another five years and continue the rebranding.

“Yes, we’re going to create history in Pitbull Stadium,” Pérez said during a news conference in Miami. “This isn’t just an announcement. This is a movement. This is truly history in the making.”

FIU said it is the first agreement where an artist possesses the naming rights to a stadium. Pérez will also be involved with FIU’s efforts in the name, image and likeness space, athletic director Scott Carr said.

“This is a historic day for FIU athletics to uniquely partner with a world-renowned artist and amazing person who truly values relationships and his community,” Carr said. “Armando’s financial support is program-changing, but him providing a microphone to amplify FIU will be even more beneficial to growing our brand.”

As part of the deal, Pérez gets use of the stadium for 10 days each year rent-free, with some tickets to those events to be set aside for FIU students. A vodka brand he owns will be a preferred brand at the stadium going forward, he will receive use of two suites and 20 VIP parking passes for FIU football home games, and he’s being asked to create an “FIU Anthem” to be played at the school’s athletic contests.

“It’s a true blessing, a true honor,” Pérez said. “Let’s make history.”

Pitbull — who also goes by “Mr. 305,” a nod to Miami’s area code — kicked off his music career in the South Florida rap scene around 2004, eventually becoming one of the world’s most recognized artists.

“Pitbull’s career trajectory mirrors FIU’s ascent as one of the nation’s top public research universities,” FIU President Kenneth A. Jessell said. “Like FIU, he started out very 305 and became worldwide.”

Pérez has been a longtime proponent of supporting education in South Florida. FIU said he founded the first SLAM! (Sports Leadership, Arts, and Management) tuition-free public charter school in Miami in 2012.

“This is about uniting everybody,” he said. “This is about bringing everybody together. … Hard work is what pays off. They tell me, ‘You so lucky.’ Well, the harder I work, the luckier I get.”

Tim Reynolds is an Associated Press reporter.

There will be over-the-air channels in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Fort Myers markets, where viewers can watch the Panthers for most of their regular-season games and their first-round games in the NHL playoffs.

In Miami/Fort Lauderdale, all locally produced games will air on WSFL-TV, channel 39.

In West Palm Beach, all locally produced games will air on WHDT-TV, channel 9.

In Fort Myers, Scripps Sports will announce the broadcast channel in advance of next season.

Also part of the deal: games on basic cable and satellite, as well as offerings on a new team-branded, direct-to-consumer streaming app. The app will be ready in October for the start of the 2024-25 season, the Panthers said.

“We want to ensure that we’re addressing the heightened demand for our team and our sport, and we want to accelerate that growth,” Mark Zarthar, the Panthers’ chief strategy officer, said Tuesday. “And so, what is the next big step for us is making the viewership of our games much more accessible? With Scripps as an over-the-air provider, they will help us reach over 2.6 million households.”

The move, which already has received NHL approval, comes at perhaps the perfect time for the Panthers.

Attendance has soared in each of the last two seasons, with more than 1 million tickets sold at home games this season for the first time, including playoffs. The team says it is seeing more than a 70% increase in youth hockey numbers over the past decade. And an estimated 400,000 people braved torrential rain and lightning for the team’s victory parade and celebration on Sunday, so interest in the team — still basking in winning the Cup for the first time — likely has never been even close to this high.

Florida will become the third NHL team to partner with Scripps, joining Vegas and Utah.

“We found a partner that not only can provide us with a tremendous amount of reach and accessibility, but they’ve proven that they can do it because it works in Vegas,” Zarthar said. “We feel very confident and comfortable with them, and I give a lot of credit to the NHL, to Diamond Sports Group and to Scripps Sports for making this all work out in the way that we feel very confident moving into next season.”

The Panthers had been working on options for the past several months, and the move in May by Comcast — a major cable provider in the South Florida market — to black out 15 regional sports networks offered by Bally Sports made it seem even more obvious that a change likely was coming soon.

Diamond Sports Group, which distributes the networks under the Bally name, is working to emerge from bankruptcy, further complicating the issue that many Major League Baseball, NBA and NHL teams are facing about game broadcasts going forward.

Many of the plans for how the Panthers broadcasts will look, such as graphic elements, are still being finalized. The team intends to keep its broadcast team intact, an important piece for the Panthers because some of those personalities have been with the club for most, if not all, of the franchise’s 30-year existence.

There are also plans, at some point, to add a Spanish-language broadcast option for Panthers games, which would open even more doors in South Florida given the enormous Latino population. And, without revealing specifics, the Panthers said they are satisfied with what the move will mean in terms of new revenue streams created by getting the games in front of more people.

“We look forward to an unprecedented amount of support and attention on hockey in Florida as we move forward,” Panthers President Matthew Caldwell said.

Reinhart — who scored the game-winner in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final — and the Panthers have agreed on an eight-year, $69 million contract, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Monday morning. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team did not release the financial details, only the agreement.

“Since coming to South Florida, Sam has demonstrated his ability to be a powerful scoring threat while maintaining strong defensive play,” Panthers president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito said. “His versatility and value as a player are only outshined by his premier personality and work ethic, and we are pleased to have him continue on with our group.”

The deal got done Sunday night, which was critical because it kept Reinhart out of unrestricted free agency and allowed Florida to give him the eight-year agreement. It also means the Panthers have forwards Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Reinhart all under contract together for the next six years.

“It’s a big head start,” Zito said of having much of the core already in place. “If I can twist your question a little bit, ‘If you are not successful in getting every piece that you want to get, is the train still moving forward?’ Before you can build, you have to sustain it. That’s the hope for sure. I think it’s the case, but we’re still trying to get it right. We’ll still never stop trying to get the right pieces and the right people.”

Reinhart — who scored a Panthers-record 67 goals this past season, including 10 in the playoffs — missed Sunday’s parade and rally celebrating the Stanley Cup title because he was attending his best friend’s wedding. He sent a video instead, telling fans he wished he could have been at the events.

“What a week it’s been,” Reinhart said. “Best week of my life.”

Indeed, it was a week like none other.

Reinhart scored Florida’s first goal of the season and, eight months later, had the last goal of the season. His score late in the second period put the Panthers ahead to stay in their 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the title series.

From there, it was a few days of celebrating with teammates, then his friend’s wedding, and now a deal that keeps him in Florida for years to come.

Kulikov also to return

The Panthers also agreed to terms with veteran defenseman Dmitry Kulikov on a four-year contract extension through the 2027-28 season, the team announced.

“Dmitry’s stout defensive play and strong physicality were crucial to winning our first Stanley Cup,” said Zito. “We are excited that he will be a Florida Panther for years to come.”

The 6-foot-1, 201-pound Kulikov, 33, recorded 20 points this season for the Panthers, with one goal and 19 assists in 76 games. He also had a plus-15 rating. His 19 assists were his most since the 2014-15 season during his first stint with Florida. In this year’s playoffs, Kulikov had 56 hits and two assists.

He was originally drafted by the Panthers in the first round (14th overall) in 2009 and has appeared in 948 career NHL games with Florida (2009-16, 2023-24), Buffalo (2016-17), Winnipeg (2017-20), New Jersey (2020-21), Edmonton (2020-21), Minnesota (2021-22) and Anaheim (2022-23). The 15-year veteran has amassed 234 career points (46-188-234).

“He has a reasonable number and I suspect he could have a better financial picture somewhere else,” Zito said. “And he said: ‘I’m all in. I’m staying.’ That’s really nice to have a commitment from a guy like that with everything he leaves out on the ice.”

Panthers fan favorite Ryan Lomberg crowd surfs during the team’s championship celebration on Sunday, June 30, 2024 at Fort Lauderdale beach. (John McCall/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Lomberg, Montour leaving

Panthers fan favorite Ryan Lomberg signed a two-year contract with the Calgary Flames, one day after celebrating wildly with fans at the Panthers’ championship parade on Fort Lauderdale Beach. The deal reportedly is worth $4 million.

The 29-year-old Lomberg, who had five goals and two assists in 75 games with the Panthers this season, spent the first two years of his NHL career in Calgary before signing with Florida as a free agent. The physical forward played sparingly on the fourth line during the Panthers’ Stanley Cup run.

Fresh off helping Florida win the Stanley Cup, defenseman Brandon Montour signed a $50 million, seven-year contract with Seattle.

Also, defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and backup goalie Anthony Stolarz are signing with Toronto. Ekman-Larsson deal is reportedly for four years and $3.5 million, while Stolarz’s is for two years and $5 million. Forward Kevin Stenlund is signing with Utah for two years and $4 million.

Other deals

The Panthers also agreed to terms with forward Rasmus Asplund on a one-year, two-way contract. The 26-year-old Asplund has appeared in 183 career NHL games, notching 49 points (18-31-49) with the Sabres (2019-2020, 2022-23) and Predators (2022-23). He was originally drafted by Buffalo in the second round in 2016. …

— Forward Tomas Nosek will sign a one-year deal wit the Panthers. Nosek, 31, skated in 36 games with New Jersey in 2023-24, compiling six points (2-4-6). He averaged the third-highest shorthanded time on ice among New Jersey forwards (1:23).

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Nosek has skated in 434 career NHL games between New Jersey (2023-24), Boston (2021-22 to 2022-23), Vegas (2017-18 to 2021-22) and Detroit (2015-16 to 2016-17), registering 107 points (44-63-107). He has also played in 52 Stanley Cup playoff games, producing 14 points (6-8-14). …

— Florida has agreed to terms with forward A.J. Greer on a two-year contract. Greer, 27, appeared in 59 games with the Calgary in the 2023-24 season, matching his career high with 12 points (6-6-12).

The 6-foot-3, 209-pound Greer has played in 167 career NHL games between Colorado (2016-17 to 2018-19), New Jersey (2020-21 to 2021-22), Boston (2022-23) and Calgary (2023-24), producing 32 points (13-19-32). …

— Florida agreed to terms with forward Jesper Boqvist on a one-year contract. Boqvist, 25, skated in 47 games with Boston in 2023-24, recording 14 points (6-18-14) and a plus-14 rating.

The 6-foot-1, 184-pound Boqvist has appeared in 236 career NHL games between Boston (2023-24) and New Jersey (2019-20 to 2022-23) amassing 69 points (34-35-69). He reached the 10-goal mark in back-to-back years with New Jersey from 2021-22 to 2022-23. …

— The Panthers are bring back Chris Driedger after the goaltender agreed to terms on a one-year contract. Driedger, 30, appeared in two games with Seattle in 2023-24, posting a .917 save percentage.

The 6-foot-4, 208-pound Driedger has appeared in 67 total NHL regular season games in his career between Ottawa (2014-15 to 2016-17), Florida (2019-20 to 2020-21) and Seattle (2021-22 and 2023-24), registering a 31-24-5 record, .917 save percentage and 2.45 goals against average.

The off-ice success isn’t hard to figure out, either.

With a 26th sellout of the season expected for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final on Saturday night, when the Panthers play host to the New York Rangers, Florida has already lured more fans to its rink this year than in any other in the team’s 30-season history. And the team’s ticket revenue has climbed 50% from where it was just two years ago, according to data shared with The Associated Press.

“If you win and you build a good program, you create an expanded fan base that isn’t necessarily then going to fluctuate with wins and losses all the time,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “You have to, over time, play an exciting game of hockey. But I’d like to feel that we’re part of something with deep enough roots that we would be considered a model franchise.”

That phrase — “model franchise” — was not one that anyone in hockey would tag the Panthers with a few years ago. Relocation rumors, despite the team steadfastly saying they were totally untrue, were constant. The home rink was half-empty, at best, much of the time.

Those days are long gone.

“We’ve had some great turnouts throughout these playoffs so far,” Panthers forward Steven Lorentz said.

Florida will play its 50th home game of the season on Saturday night, tying last year’s team for the second-most in club history. If Florida makes the Stanley Cup Final, there is a chance that the Panthers’ total home attendance could top the 1 million mark for the first time; it’ll be somewhere around 940,000 for the season when all the tickets for Game 6 against the Rangers are counted.

“They’ve been great for us all season,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said.

No NHL team saw a bigger jump in regular season average home attendance this year than the Panthers, whose numbers in that department went up nearly 12% over last season. Over a two-year span, that number is up 25% — and corporate partnership revenue is up by more than 120% from where it was in 2022, the team said.

Add it all up — the wins, the deep playoff runs, the sellouts, the opening earlier this year of a new practice facility with fan-friendly amenities such as a store and restaurant in downtown Fort Lauderdale, more and more sponsor deals — and it becomes obvious that Florida is enjoying a run from the business standpoint like never before.

“You have to play a style of game that if you’re going to spend your money and you’re going to go to the rink in February, you’ve got a real good chance of being entertained,” Maurice said. “And I think these men do that.”

Saba Lobjanidze scored once in each half, Jamal Thiaré helped put the game away with a goal in the 73rd minute and Atlanta United snapped a nine-match MLS winless streak with a 3-1 victory on Wednesday night.

Atlanta United was 0-5-4 in MLS play since beating Chicago 3-0 on March 31. But it never trailed on Wednesday, with Lobjanidze scoring late in the first half to put his side on top and adding the second in the 59th minute. After Messi’s score, Atlanta United kept all 10 field players in the defensive end whenever the hosts had deep possession in the final 30 minutes.

Messi got his 11th goal of the MLS season, tying Luis Suarez for the team lead. Inter Miami (10-3-4, 34 points) kept a one-point lead atop the Eastern Conference and the overall MLS standings over Cincinnati (10-3-3, 33 points). Cincinnati lost to Nashville on Wednesday night, missing a chance to take the top spot.

“We were missing a gear,” Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said through an interpreter.

Inter Miami entered Wednesday with a 7-0-3 mark in its last 10 MLS matches. It is now 10-0-4 when allowing two goals or less in MLS play this season — and 0-3-0 when surrendering three goals or more.

“I’d say it was a night where the team went backwards from other matches,” Martino said.

So, Wednesday was a dud. The first half of the season, though, has gone largely to plan.

With 34 points through exactly half the MLS schedule — matching its total from all of the 2023 season, when Messi joined around the midway point and helped the team win Leagues Cup but couldn’t get it into the playoffs — Inter Miami is on pace for 68 points this season.

Mathematically, yes, that’s correct.

Realistically, well, probably not so much.

The plan, for now, calls for Messi to play at least some minutes when Inter Miami plays host to St. Louis on Saturday. After that, Messi will be trading Inter Miami’s pink kit for the blue of Argentina — playing for country instead of club for a bit.

Copa América — the 16-team tournament which runs from June 20 through July 14 — is looming, with Messi set to play for defending champion Argentina and Suarez a possibility to play for Uruguay. They may miss MLS matches when Inter Miami plays at Philadelphia (June 15), vs. Columbus (June 19), at Nashville (June 29), at Charlotte (July 3) and at Cincinnati (July 6). Following the Copa América final, Miami also has home matches against Toronto (July 17) and Chicago (July 20).

Unlike most leagues, MLS schedules games during some FIFA fixture periods, when release of players to national teams is mandatory. And after Copa, it would seem likely that Inter Miami may lose some players again when national teams call for the Paris Olympics.

Messi had some opportunities in the early going, including a diving header about four minutes into the match off a chip into the middle of the box by Jordi Alba. Messi, fending off some contact, sent the ball into the turf and the carom spun over the crossbar; he gave Alba a thumbs-up for the idea as he picked himself up from the grass with a smile.

And in the 21st minute, Messi sent a chip toward the left post — just over a leaping Robert Taylor, who would have had plenty of net to aim for had he been able to attempt the header.

His goal in the 63rd minute was a typical Messi masterpiece, threading a ball between two defenders and just inside the right post, barely out of the reach of a diving Atlanta goalie Josh Cohen.

That’s a nice problem to have right now.

Florida will open the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs at home. That much is certain. The opponent — Boston or Toronto — couldn’t be determined until late Thursday night, at the earliest. And when Game 1 of the next series will happen is anybody’s guess.

So, the Panthers are resting and waiting. The current plan calls for them to skate daily through Friday, then see what happens.

“We have a sports science group, got a new facility, got lots of things we can do for recovery for these guys and we’re exploring all that,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “And we’re trying to learn too. It’s not that we set a program and we’re staying with it. There’s a better way and that’s what we’re doing down there today.”

The Panthers have some experience with this. They went nearly a week from the end of a Round 2 win over Toronto to the start of the Eastern Conference finals against Carolina last year, They waited almost a week and a half between the end of that series with the Hurricanes and the start of the Stanley Cup Final against Vegas.

“Anytime you can take a break like this, take advantage of it,” Panthers forward Sam Reinhart said. “You’re going to be better off, mentally, physically. You know, it’s a grind. Every series is its own battle, has its own challenges. So, you have to take advantage of a time like this.”

They could use the rest. Forward Sam Bennett, who missed the last 3 1/2 games of the five-game series with Tampa Bay because of an upper-body injury, planned to skate Thursday for the first time since getting hurt. The Panthers haven’t said if he’ll be ready to play in Game 1 against the Bruins or Maple Leafs, but it stands to reason that the more time Florida has off now the higher the chances are of Bennett being ready.

There’s also the array of bumps and bruises that everyone has at this time of year, which is why the treatment rooms saw all the activity at the Panthers’ facility on Wednesday while the ice stayed empty.

“This time is huge for us,” Panthers forward Anton Lundell said. “We’re trying to take it and recover and get some energy back.”

The Panthers’ video staff is pulling double-duty right now, since preparations have to be made for two teams. But in fairness, it’s not like either side in the next round will be starting from scratch. Going back to the start of last season, Florida has played Boston 15 times and Toronto 13 times — meaning it has faced the Bruins and Maple Leafs more than it has any other opponent in that span.

Florida beat Boston in a seven-game Round 1 series last season — a big upset over the No. 1 seed — and then beat the Maple Leafs in five games.

“They know us. We know them,” Maurice said, referring to both Boston and Toronto. “In a 13-month period, those are the two teams we probably know the best.”

And Carter Verhaeghe made sure his goalie’s highlight-reel work came in a win.

Verhaeghe — making some history of his own — lifted a backhander just under the crossbar 2:59 into overtime, and the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Tuesday night for a 2-0 lead in their NHL first-round playoff series.

“It just takes one shot in these moments,” Verhaeghe said after Florida won its 11th consecutive OT playoff game — the second-longest such streak in NHL history.

Verhaeghe became the sixth player in NHL history with at least five playoff overtime gamewinners. This one came on a play where Matthew Tkachuk got the puck to Anton Lundell — who found Verhaeghe. He waited for Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy to commit, then put the puck over him to end it.

The only players in NHL history with more playoff OT gamewinners than Verhaeghe are Joe Sakic with eight, and Maurice “Rocket” Richard with six.

“Being in the conversation with those guys, that’s pretty crazy,” Verhaeghe said.

Added Panthers coach Paul Maurice, when told that stat: “Whoa. That’s pretty good.”

Sam Bennett, who left with an injury in the second period when he appeared to get hit by teammate Brandon Montour’s slap shot, and Vladimir Tarasenko scored for Florida. Bobrovsky stopped 21 shots, including some highlight-reel saves.

Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos scored for Tampa Bay, which got two assists from Victor Hedman. Vasilevskiy stopped 34 shots, matching Bobrovsky stop-for-stop for long stretches of what seemed like a goaltending duel for much of the night.

“Both goalies made some amazing saves,” Stamkos said. “Game could have ended a lot earlier, probably.”’

Bobrovsky had two wild saves in the second period — one off his mask, the other a no-look dive that he got basically with his back to the play to deny Lightning defenseman Matt Dumba and preserve what was then a 2-2 tie.

And it stayed that way, all the way until the sudden end.

“It’s a big, big win for us,” Bobrovsky said.

It was 2-0 Florida after one, with Bennett scoring at 6:16 — the Lightning unsuccessfully challenged that goal for goaltender interference — and Tarasenko connecting nearly nine minutes later. The Panthers controlled the opening 15 minutes, just like they did in Game 1, outshooting the Lightning 12-1 and the two-goal lead held up going into the second period.

That’s when the Lightning — who boast a roster loaded with Stanley Cup hoisters — showed their postseason poise.

“Unfortunately for us, we’re finding ourselves behind in both games,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said, after his team fell for the 11th time in its last 12 playoff overtime contests. “It’s a tough league to come back in, especially in the playoffs.”

Point scored 48 seconds into the second to cut the lead in half. Stamkos — who was an inch away from a power-play tally in the opening period — got one at 5:48 of the second to tie the game. It was his patented one-timer, just like the one he took a period earlier that got past Bobrovsky’s glove but hit the goalpost with such force that the rebound skipped all the way out of the zone.

So, Florida had lost two things — the lead, and Bennett. He left early in the second period, seeming to hold his wrist, and went directly toward the Panthers’ locker room as soon as he got off the ice. He did not return, with the Panthers calling it an upper-body injury. Maurice said he’ll be evaluated Wednesday.

But Panthers found a way to take a 2-0 lead, after going 2-8 in their two previous playoff series with their in-state rivals — who now head home needing to protect home ice.

“There’s a ton of resiliency in that group,” Cooper said.

A lot in the Panthers too, and Verhaeghe showed that — again.

“Chucky made an awesome play, Lundy made an awesome play,” Verhaeghe said. “I just finished it.”

UP NEXT

Game 3 is Thursday in Tampa.

Except this time, nobody minded. Because the guy who said it was Panthers coach Paul Maurice.

Weird, goofy and unique are just some of the terms Maurice uses to describe his team, and he’s saying those words in the most endearing way possible. To him, they’re all badges of honor, part of the reasons why the Panthers finished with 110 points, won the Atlantic Division for the second time in three years and have a full head of steam going into a first-round playoff series with the rival Tampa Bay Lightning.

“There’s a lot of guys that have been here for a long time, we’ve been together and everyone’s great,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. “Everyone’s serious when we go on the ice and when we have to work. That’s the best part of it. And, off the ice, obviously we want to be as relaxed as possible, joke around, that kind of stuff. We love spending time together.”

The way Maurice sees it, the more fun the Panthers have, the better. The team’s practice facility that opened this season was designed with some of that in mind, loaded with amenities designed to make the players want to spend even more time together. And every locker room in sports has a personality, a heartbeat to it — but Maurice insists there’s something different about Florida’s.

Nobody is safe from the jokes in there. Not Barkov, not Matthew Tkachuk, not Aaron Ekblad, not Sergei Bobrovsky, not even Maurice himself.

“Goalies have this weird superstitious thing, and I’m not superstitious,” backup goalie Anthony Stolarz said. “I’m cracking jokes with the guys, talking on the bench in between periods, trying to just lighten the mood any way I can. But goalies are kind of known for being a little weird. So, I try to stick to that stigma just a little bit.”

Like all hockey rooms, Florida’s is a melting pot filled with Americans, Canadians, Russians, Swedes, Finns, even a Latvian. Countless different backgrounds, tons of languages spoken, and it’s only natural for players with similar stories to gravitate toward one another.

Not so with the Panthers. Stolarz says he’s been to dinner on road trips with just about everybody on the roster, and Maurice figures that just about everyone in the room can say that as well.

“It’s a tight group for sure,” said Florida forward Sam Reinhart, who scored 57 goals this season, 27 of them on the power play. “I’ve known that from Day 1. I think as I’ve progressed here, year in and year out, it’s gotten even closer. I think when you’ve got that core group, it’s easy for guys to come in and just fit in and feel comfortable. It’s important.”

This is why it’s so important: The Stanley Cup playoffs will test any team. Wins are great, losses are tragic. The emotional ebbs and flows can vary not just by the day, but by the period, even by the shift in some cases.

If bonds and trust within a roster haven’t been formed by now, they probably won’t be. Maurice knows he doesn’t have to worry about that — the weirdness, as he calls it, puts him at ease with the team about to enter the most important part of the season.

As he put it, the room allows every player — and the coach — to be goofy when needed, without fear.

“We’ve got some unique guys in there,” Maurice said. “We’ve got some guys that just don’t look like professional athletes, and they’re elite at it. Lots of different personalities. So, what I think you find is because of the room the way it is, so accepting, guys are completely comfortable truly being themselves — and then that weirdness or uniqueness comes out.”

They’re already in Boca Raton. And Jakus wants them to stay.

Jakus’ introductory news conference at FAU was Friday afternoon in Boca Raton, and his first public act as the school’s new coach was speaking directly to those players who have decisions to make — stay or go? — and state his case for them to come back next season.

“I just asked them one thing: ‘Give me a chance. Give me a chance,’” said Jakus, whose five-year deal pays $1 million a year. “And the reality of the situation is if you leave, maybe you find something better. But I doubt it. Because what you’ve built here and what you’ve built as friends is fantastic.”

Jakus’ arrival at FAU’s arena was accompanied by a standing ovation from fans and boosters, a blaring school pep band and cheerleaders waving pompoms in the air. And it took about two minutes before the new FAU coach was greeted by expectations, too.

“Coach, you know we’re going back to the tournament next year, right?” FAU President Stacy Volnick said, as those in the gym roared in approval.

It’s a new era at FAU, but the goals won’t change, and Jakus wouldn’t have it any other way. The former Baylor associate head coach was hired Wednesday night to replace Dusty May — who left after six seasons for Michigan, ending a run where he took the Owls to the Final Four a year ago and back to the NCAA Tournament this year.

“I’m going to fight like crazy to keep you,” Jakus told the players. “And I’m just going to tell you this real quick: If you’re a season ticket holder, I wouldn’t give that up. If you’re a student who had to wait in line because it’s so hard to get into this place, I’d tell you to get here earlier next year.”

The interview process was quick. After about two hours of an in-person meeting with FAU athletic director Brian White and others — White, smartly, let Jakus sit facing the window overlooking the beach and ocean water below — it was made clear that the Owls were about to make an offer.

Jakus called his wife, Sara. They’ve had offers before and turned them down because of what it might mean to their family; one of their three children was born with severe autism. Jakus made clear that in his house, what Sara says goes.

“And so, we said yes,” Jakus said. “She said yes.”

The deal was done, Jakus met his new team a couple hours later.

“He’s won a national championship. He’s been to multiple Final Fours. He’s been to three Elite Eights and five Sweet Sixteens,” White said. “You know, that’s success. He wasn’t just a part of it. He was a big part of it.”

Jakus and May have exchanged messages this week; Jakus thanked May for what he did at FAU, and May wished him luck.

Jakus was at Baylor under Scott Drew for seven seasons — including the team’s national championship season in 2021 — and spent time at Gonzaga as director of operations under Mark Few before that. During that three-year stretch, the Bulldogs went to an Elite Eight one year, a Sweet 16 the next and then national title game.

Jakus has familiarity with South Florida. He has family there, has vacationed there, even went on spring break there once. (“I’m not going to tell you what happened during that time, OK?” he said.) In his initial conversation with White on Sunday, Jakus revealed that he’s planning to retire in the area and that “if you’re going to bring me here 20 years earlier, let’s do it.”

He’s already started using some of the school’s top selling points: The campus is 1.8 miles from the beach, the weather’s often perfect, the athletic department’s slogan is “Winning in Paradise.” And as he looked at FAU’s current players on Friday, he told them about that first call and how it made him realize FAU is where he wanted to be going forward.

“I wanted it bad. So, I spent an hour just selling my heart out for it,” Jakus said. “And one of the reasons I wanted it so bad is because what you guys have done. The beach is great. Paradise is great. What this university is is great. But what you guys have given this place is what I want to be and what I’ve been about. And the two Final Fours have been some of the greatest memories of my life. And the fact that you guys have done this, I want to do another one with you.”

Michigan President Santa Ono, in a social media post, announced the hiring on Saturday night. May and the Wolverines were in the process of finalizing details of what was expected to be a five-year contract, according to a person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Michigan had yet to announce the terms of the deal.

“I am thrilled to welcome Dusty May to the University of Michigan as our new head basketball coach,” Ono wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

ESPN first reported the agreement.

May will replace Juwan Howard, a former Michigan star who was fired after five seasons with the Wolverines. Howard went 82-67 with two NCAA tournament appearances, but the Wolverines went 8-24 this season — the school’s worst record since 1960-61.

Barely 24 hours after FAU’s season was done, Michigan put its turnaround task in May’s hands.

The speculation about May’s future started long before now — it really has been a constant for more than a year. He was touted as a rising coaching candidate last season after a 20-game win streak thrust FAU into the national spotlight for the first time. And then the NCAA run to the Final Four, where the Owls were a bounce away from making it to the national championship game against Connecticut, only further validated the sense that May was ready for the biggest of big time.

FAU did what it could last year to keep May, signing him shortly after the Final Four run to a 10-year extension. He earned $1.25 million in base salary this season, plus another $25,000 for making the NCAA tournament. FAU is due a $1 million buyout now that May has decided to leave.

May got questions about his future for the last several weeks, including when FAU lost to Northwestern on Friday in the first round of the NCAA tourney. His stance never wavered: His plan was to listen to those who called, then decide what was best.

And Michigan evidently made him the offer that he couldn’t decline.

“College basketball is very fluid. Just click on Twitter to see,” May said after FAU’s loss on Friday in the tournament. “No idea what’s next for anybody in our locker room. I love it at FAU. I love coaching these guys, and that’s it.”

May went 126-69 in his six years at Florida Atlantic, finishing with winning records in each of those seasons — and seeing the victories really pile up in the last two years. The Owls went 35-4 last season on their way to the Final Four and finished this season at 25-9.

That’s 60 wins in the last two years; entering this weekend, the only Division I men’s programs with more victories in that span were Houston (64) and defending national champion UConn (63). And FAU’s home record in that stretch of 30-1 tied Drake for the best at the Division I men’s level, with all those games being sellouts in Boca Raton — such a hot ticket that students would line up for hours to get into some of those contests, something that the school hadn’t seen before.

Countless “firsts” in FAU basketball history came on May’s watch, such as first NCAA Tournament win, first 25-win season, first AP Top 25 appearance, first Final Four. FAU had exactly one season with 20 wins before May came along; the Owls have three now, after he was able to lure big-time talent to Boca Raton and play in a 3,000-seat arena that doubles as the practice court, a place where the orange paint is chipped off many of the rims and without many of the amenities that top programs can boast.

Put another way: May had more winning seasons at FAU (six) than the school had in its first 25 years of Division I play before he arrived combined (five).

FAU was May’s first stop as a head coach. He was previously an assistant at Florida, Louisiana Tech, UAB, Murray State and Eastern Michigan, started his coaching career as an administrative assistant and video coordinator at USC — and before all that, graduated from Indiana where he was a manager under Bob Knight.

And now he goes back to the Big Ten, only in maize and blue.