John Beilein had a priceless reaction to Michigan winning its first title in 37 years

And now we have two Michigan teams that have won the Final Four. The 1989 squad got it done some 37 years ago under Steve Fisher. Dusty May just won his first national title at Michigan on Monday night over the UConn Huskies. While John Belein led Michigan to a pair of national championship games, he never got it done in either 2013 or in 2018. He was there to take in Michigan's big moment.

Beilein said after the game that while he was proud of the huge win, he was feeling a little bit envious...

"And to do this, you're a little envious actually, you know what I mean? Because it is a great thing for the university, for Dusty, and his program."

He continued by trying to recall what he told May when he was considering taking over the program.

"It's hard to recall. There were some rumors out there that Michigan was a football school, that we weren't interested in basketball. And I just told him, 'Dusty, that's completely false!' The administration, I had four ADs, three presidents, all were 100 percent behind me from day one."

Beilein was obviously a ball of emotions to finally see the Michigan basketball program truly on top.

Heading into the Final Four, Beilein was absolutely right that team was going to win the whole thing.

John Beilein admits there is some jealousy over Dusty May winning it all

How Beilein feels is not uncommon. There are many excellent head coaches everywhere who had great careers at one school, but did not get it done in the end, only to see a successor later on win the ultimate prize. This may be on par with how Mark Richt felt when Kirby Smart finally won a national title at Georgia to end their 41-year drought back in 2021. Happy for the university, but a bit jealous...

In the end, May would not have taken this job if not for the great work Beilein put in the many years prior to him. Yes, Juwan Howard had the right to lead his alma mater's team for a bit, but May was clearly the one to take Michigan over the top. This is the same head coach who famously took Florida Atlantic to the Final Four. Nobody does that! It is why Michigan is in such a fantastic spot under May.

Overall, it was all building up to this. Michigan came close during the Fab Five era. It most certainly had its moments under Beilein, but it was not until this team that Michigan finally broke through. This was a team that just straight-up mushed people. The physical presence in the front court was common throughout the entire season. UConn was a hard matchup, but Michigan win it all in the end.

Beilein may not have won a national title while leading Michigan, but he was surely elated to see one.