The winningest coach in University of Michigan basketball history is leaving the school to take the head coaching job for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

ESPN broke the news this morning, saying sources close to the UM program have confirmed he has told the school he will coach in the NBA for Cleveland next season. He flirted with taking the Detroit Pistons job last season, but ultimately turned them down.

Beilein was in the process of contacting all of his players last and this morning. Classes ended at the Ann Arbor campus last month.

Michigan advanced to the Sweet 16 of this season's NCAA tournament before being eliminated by eventual runners up, Texas Tech. The team was returning a pretty strong nucleus for next season, although two key players, Iggy Brazdeikis and Jordan Poole left the team early to join in the NBA draft.

In addition to being the winningest coach in UM history with 278 wins, Beilein has taken the Wolverines to two NCAA National Championship games and four Big Ten titles in 12 seasons.

It is believed Beilein signed a five year deal to coach the Cavaliers, who finished this past season with a record of 19-63, good for 14th place in the Eastern Conference.

The Cavaliers are owned by Detroit businessman and real estate mogul Dan Gilbert.

No word on Beilein's replacement at Michigan, although assistant coach Saddi Washington has been spoken of by Beilein as being worthy of a head coaching position in the future.

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