Thousands turn out to watch Michigan raise NCAA banner at Crisler Center

ANN ARBOR, MICH (Fox 2) - Thousands of fans packed the streets of Ann Arbor, and packed themselves into the Chrisler Center to celebrate the Michigan Wolverines historic season. 

The team beat UConn on Monday night to secure the National Championship, the second for the men's basketball team in school history. 

Saturday was all about the celebration of the 37-3 national champions. The day started with a parade from South University to the Yost Ice Arena, followed by the raising of three banners to the rafters at their home arena. First was a Big 10 championship banner, followed by a Final Four banner, and finally the National Championship banner. 

"Anytime you have a group come together, and you feel like they gave you so much more than you could ever give them, it just melts you because these guys did it for each other," Coach Dusty May said during the celebration. 

"I can’t even begin to describe what the block M means to me and how much it’s given me, both on the floor and off the floor," Will Tschetter said. "I’ve met my best friends at this school. I’ve gotten two degrees from this school."

During the celebration, Athletic Director Warde Manuel announced that May had signed an extension to keep him a Wolverine for many years to come. 

"Dusty and I have already reached an agreement," Manuel said in a remark that resulted in a standing ovation as well as chants of "Dusty!" from the crowd that had gathered at the Crisler Center. "And he will be the leader of this basketball team for many years to come."

May, 49, led Michigan to a national title in his second season on the job after inheriting a program that went 8-24 the year before his arrival. Michigan went 37-3 this season and earned its first national title since 1989 by beating UConn 69-63 in the NCAA Tournament championship game.

He had been mentioned as a potential target for North Carolina, which hired former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone on Tuesday to replace the fired Hubert Davis.

"It’s been an honor for two years to represent all of you and to be called Coach by these guys," May said during Saturday’s ceremony. "Anytime you have a group come together and you feel like they gave you so much more than you could ever give them, it melts you. These guys did it for each other. They did it for the staff. They did it for all of you, and they did it for all the right reasons — with class, with great effort and support for each other. That’s all you can ask for as a coach."

May owns an overall coaching record of 190-82. He went 126-69 at Florida Atlantic from 2018-24 and led the Owls to a 2023 Final Four appearance before going 64-13 at Michigan the last two seasons.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.