Crowds flooded the sidewalks of State Street down to Yost Ice Arena. Players in the beds of pickup trucks popped confetti, threw footballs with students on the porch of their houses, signed paraphernalia thrown their way, and danced with fans lined up just feet away. Dusty May and all the coaches rode in their cars and the Michigan Marching Band wrapped things up from a fire truck.
The parade from South U to Yost Ice Arena was just the latest in celebrations for the 2026 National Championship-winning Michigan men’s basketball team. And immediately following, the Wolverines concluded the party by raising three banners into the rafters of Crisler Center around a full crowd — a Big Ten Championship banner, the program’s first Final Four banner since 2018, and the second National Championship banner to accompany a once lonely 1989 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,” May said at the celebration in Crisler Center. “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.”
That common message rang throughout the celebration — one of constant support, teamwork, and unselfishness.
“They completely turned my confidence around,” Elliot Cadeau said. “Coming into this season, it was at an all-time low. And the guys behind me completely changed that for me.
“It’s just the guys behind,” Roddy Gayle Jr. said when asked what led to March Roddy and April Roddy. “The support that they’ve given me throughout the course of the season, props to those guys, I feel like I’m forever indebted.”
“The type of person that was first and foremost, his mindset as a coach, and then the staff that he recruited in and hired, it was just amazing people across the board and I knew I need to be a part of this,” Nimari Burnett said about staying at Michigan after the 8-24 season.
“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. It’s the least that I can do to, you know, sacrifice a few shots and some minutes for us to be able to hang three banners.”
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