Pat Forde: Mike Boynton Deserves Chance to Lead Michigan After Misfortune Marred Oklahoma State Tenure

Bad luck and bad timing hurt Boynton during his first head coaching stint, but that shouldn’t stop the Wolverines from giving him a second chance.

Mike Boynton previously served as head coach at Oklahoma State before serving as Dusty May’s assistant at Michigan. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Mike Boynton was on the court at Lucas Oil Stadium before the NCAA tournament championship game in April, throwing entry passes to Michigan post men and playing cursory defense against drivers. These are the mundane pregame warmup duties of an assistant coach—the kind of work Boynton left behind for seven seasons from 2017 to ’24. 

That’s when he was the head coach at Oklahoma State. It was a star-crossed tenure, pockmarked with bad luck and bad timing before ending in a questionable dismissal. Under Boynton, Oklahoma State was the recipient of what remains the last power-conference postseason ban for NCAA violations; was on the wrong end of a stunning upset in the bizarre bubble tournament of 2021; and was fighting uphill when the Big 12 was at its apex as the toughest conference in the country.

Now Boynton appears headed for a second chance. In a turn of fate, he’s getting it in a much better place than his first chance.

Boynton is the reported interim coach of the Wolverines after the shocking/not shocking departure of Dusty May for the Dallas Mavericks just three months after winning the national title. May seemed like an inevitable NBA coach, but the summer timing after two years in Ann Arbor is a jolt. For logistical, practical and philosophical reasons, Boynton is the appropriate choice for athletic director Warde Manuel to keep the Michigan machine humming.

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An internal promotion stands the best chance of keeping a top-five roster intact for 2026–27. Boynton certainly comes with May’s stamp of approval as well, given what the head coach said about him at the Final Four: “He’s just as good as I am. He’s just as prepared.” And it’s hard to shake the feeling that karma did Boynton no favors at Oklahoma State.

The Cowboys’ NCAA tournament ban for the 2021–22 season stands out as completely out of step with everything else occurring in college sports. That was fallout from the 2017 FBI investigation of corruption in college basketball, a grandiose affair that produced little in terms of institutional consequence. Except at Oklahoma State..

Former assistant coach Lamont Evans accepted bribes to steer players to Oklahoma State and South Carolina, the primary violation. A Cowboys player received $300 from Evans as well. Evans did not cooperate with the NCAA investigation. He pled guilty in federal court.

Other schools and coaches were implicated: Kansas, Arizona, North Carolina State, LSU, Auburn, USC and Louisville among them. Arizona and Auburn self-imposed postseason bans for 2020–21. Oklahoma State was the only school that had a ban applied to it externally, despite having a less sensational case than some.

LSU coach Will Wade was caught on wiretap discussing a “strong-ass offer” to a recruit. The Tigers received no postseason ban.

Louisville coaches agreed to pay $100,000 to recruit Brian Bowen, according to the feds. The Cardinals received no postseason ban.

Kansas coach Bill Self texted an Adidas consultant who funneled money to prospects that the Jayhawks “just need to get a couple real guys.” T.J. Gassnola said he would help do just that. Kansas received no postseason ban. Self got a lifetime contract.

The difference between those cases? Oklahoma State went through the standard NCAA infractions process. The others were routed through a new crime-and-punishment body, the Independent Accountability Review Process, which was a complete disaster. After panels only vaguely familiar with the workings of college athletics basically handed out lollipops to everyone it was investigating and judging, the IARP was shut down in roughly three years. On the considerable list of all-time NCAA failures, the IARP ranks high.

On the football side of things, Tennessee committed “hundreds” of violations, including coach Jeremy Pruitt directly paying players. Michigan football had multiple major infractions cases in a short period of time. Neither program received a postseason ban. The people of Stillwater took note.

Mike Boynton was 119–109 in seven years leading Oklahoma State men’s basketball. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Regardless of what the NCAA committee on infractions says, it is highly likely that Oklahoma State men’s basketball was the last major program that will ever be hit with such a penalty. When it was handed down in early November 2021, it had a chilling effect on the Cowboys’ season. They finished 15–15.

The year prior, an appeal of the postseason ban allowed Oklahoma State to play in the NCAA tournament. Behind star one-and-done player Cade Cunningham, the Pokes were 21–8 when they were upset in the second round by No. 12 seed Oregon State in the all-Indianapolis Big Dance. That ended a solid chance for a deep NCAA run.

And in 2020, the 18–14 Cowboys might have been a Big 12 tournament win or two away from making the Dance when everything was shut down by the pandemic.

Boynton finished his Oklahoma State tenure 10 games above .500, taking his lumps in Big 12 play. Truth be told, so did most everyone else. The league was ranked No. 1 nationally by Ken Pomeroy’s metrics in five of Boynton’s seven seasons, and was No. 2 in the other two.

There is some tradition at Oklahoma State, but it’s not an easy life.  The Pokes haven’t won a Big 12 title since 2004, and have just one in the last 35 years. Boynton’s successor, Steve Lutz, is 37–33 in two seasons and has not made the tournament.

Boynton’s work for two seasons on May’s bench—particularly in coordinating what was the nation’s top-ranked defense—should resonate. So should May’s endorsement. An internal promotion after a national championship didn’t work well for Michigan in football—but Sherrone Moore had no head-coaching experience and was disaster waiting to happen off the field. Boynton is entirely different.

If the job is his for 2026–27, he’s set up for success. A strong season could turn into a long-term second chance. After an ill-fated Oklahoma State run, Mike Boynton is deserving of another opportunity.

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