Hurley agrees to new six-year, $50 million contract with UConn
Dan Hurley, who joined an elite club by leading UConn to a second straight national championship, is now one of college basketball’s top-paid coaches.
UConn announced Monday that it agreed to a new six-year, $50 million contract with Hurley, 51, who’s entering his seventh season in Storrs.
With Hurley at the helm, UConn became the first men’s team in 17 years to repeat as national champion, completing a historic and dominating run by beating Purdue on April 8.
This is the second straight year that Hurley received a new deal after leading the Huskies to college basketball’s mountaintop. He earned a substantial raise one year into a six-year, $32.1 million contract.
“It’s an honor to coach basketball at UConn and to represent this world class institution and the great state of Connecticut,” Hurley said in a released statement. “We are extremely proud of the championship program that we have rebuilt for our supporters and fans. We will continue to obsessively pursue championships and historic success, while continuing to develop great young men.”
During a highly successful stint as UConn coach, Hurley has posted a 141-58 record, including a remarkable 67-11 in the last two seasons. UConn rolled through the NCAA tournament on the way to national titles in 2023 and 2024, winning all 12 postseason games by double digits.
Last season, UConn went 37-3 overall, captured the Big East regular-season and league tournament titles and earned the program’s sixth national championship. Hurley was named the Big East Coach of the Year and Naismith College Coach of the Year.
Hurley became a hot commodity.
Kentucky had an interest in hiring Hurley, who stated that he would never coach college basketball anywhere else but UConn.
Hurley expressed a desire to coach on the NBA level someday. He interviewed with the Los Angeles Lakers in early June before turning down a lucrative six-year, $70 million offer and deciding to remain at UConn.
His family’s strong ties to the Northeast and his bond with his UConn basketball family played a major part in his decision.
“In the end, it wasn’t my ego that mattered the most,” Hurley said after his decision. “It was family and it was people here at UConn and the players here at UConn. A chance to three-peat. There were definitely competitive things about trying to do things that either haven’t been done or haven’t been done in college basketball in a long time.
“But it was the relationships, the impact that you have on young people, those are the things that I love right now.”
Negotiations began on his new UConn contract in April. He signed the deal on July 4.
It runs through the 2029-30 season, expiring April 30, 2030.
“Dan Hurley is the best men’s basketball coach in the nation and we are delighted that he will continue to call UConn home,” UConn president Radenka Maric said. “In addition to the exceptional program he has built over a period of years and the extraordinary back-to-back NCAA championships he and his teams won, coach Hurley serves as a critical mentor to our student-athletes, pushing them to achieve both on the court and in the classroom, helping to lay the groundwork for their success in life long after they have left UConn.
“We are grateful both for his championship culture and for his leadership at our university and in our state.”
The contract calls for Hurley to earn a base salary of $400,000 per year, provides additional compensation for speaking, consulting and media obligations of $6.375 million for the 2024-25 season, which increases each year during the contract, and a retention bonus of $1 million per year.
It also has performance incentives, including $50,000 for either winning or sharing the Big East regular-season title and $500,000 for capturing a national championship. Associate head coach Kimani Young and assistants Tom Moore and Luke Murray qualify for their own list of incentives.
There’s also a buyout clause.
If Hurley terminates his contract to coach another college program, the payments would vary by year, starting out at $6 million from May 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025 and gradually decreasing to zero starting April 1, 2029.
If he leaves for an NBA team, payments start at $2 million from May 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025 and decline to zero by April 1, 2027.
“We are thrilled that coach Hurley will continue to lead the men's basketball program for the foreseeable future,” said UConn director of athletics David Benedict. “Dan and Andrea have poured themselves into the rebuilding of this program that culminated in the last two national championships.
“This contract is recognition for the immense amount of effort that went into producing those results and the dedication it will require to sustain a program that expects to compete for conference and national championships in the future.”
Hurley’s salary increases and other program investments will be covered by Husky Athletic Fund donors and increased ticket sales revenue, according to UConn.
g.keefe@theday.com
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