After Michigan advanced to the Sweet 16 last weekend for the eighth time in the last 12 NCAA Tournaments, former head coach John Beilein declared on X, "It's what we do! Yes, we are a Blue Blood in Men’s Basketball again!" An impartial observer might point out that the Wolverines have zero national championships in that stretch, with their last and only title coming in 1989.
"I don’t think Michigan was or is a Blue Blood in college basketball," says Jim Costa. "No disrespect to John Beilein, I just think the guy got excited after a big win. Do Michigan fans think they’re a Blue Blood?
"I think they’re in the next tier — I do," says Jon Jansen. "And I think they could become a Blue Blood."
By Costa's parameters, a Blue Blood has to have won at least one national title and been to multiple Final Fours in the last 15 years. The teams that qualify are Duke, UNC, Kansas, UConn, Villanova and Kentucky. Which is why Jansen puts them "in that next tier. They haven’t won a national title. They have competed for two."
"Blue Bloods," says Costa, "aren’t defined by Sweet 16’s."
Jansen agrees: "They’re defined by Final Fours and national championships. And I think the Dusty May era could put Michigan in that upper echelon, that Blue Blood territory. But you’ve gotta find a way to win a national title, and it has to be repeated opportunities in the Final Four."
Michigan's current run in its first season under Dusty May gives their fans "a lot to look forward to," Jansen says. "But it’s still going to be about recruiting: how much do you recruit high schoolers? How much do you just recruit the portal? And this is where I think Dusty May and Michigan could become a Blue Blood."
In May's new contract with Michigan, which featured a $1 million raise after reported interest from Indiana and now runs through 2030, "he got some assurances that they’re going to continue to invest in the basketball program," says Jansen. "Because you’re going to have to pay the players. If you don’t pay the players, then they're going to go to UConn, Duke, North Carolina and Kentucky -- all of these programs that are more invested in basketball than any other sport."
Indeed, "if you’re going to extend Dusty May a year into his deal to prevent him from going to Indiana," says Costa, "you’re serious about basketball."
"And if you’re going to do all that, you have to slot some money for the portal, for NIL, to replenish the roster. So from that standpoint, Michigan is making a decision that they want to be a powerhouse in basketball."