Dan Hurley isn’t going anywhere this summer.
After entertaining a strong pursuit from the Los Angeles Lakers to become their next head coach, Hurley declined a reported six-year, $70 million contract offer and will return to UConn, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first announced Monday.
“I am humbled by this entire experience. At the end of the day, I am extremely proud of the championship culture we have built at Connecticut,” Hurley said in a statement. “We met as a team before today’s workout and our focus right now is on getting better this summer and connecting as a team as we continue to pursue championships.”
UConn practiced from 2-4 p.m. on Monday, beginning shortly after the news was made public, and then Hurley and his staff left for a recruiting trip to the NBPA Top 100 Camp in Orlando.
Hurley, 51, has now turned down reported big money from one of the NBA’s most storied franchises and one of college basketball’s top programs, Kentucky, in the same offseason as he looks to contend for a third consecutive national championship with the Huskies.
BREAKING: Connecticut’s Dan Hurley has turned down the Los Angeles Lakers’ six-year, $70 million offer and will return to chase a third straight national title, sources tell ESPN. LA would’ve made him one of NBA’s six highest paid coaches. pic.twitter.com/hEXo3o00SR
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 10, 2024
“We are thrilled that Dan Hurley has made the decision to stay at UConn and continue building upon our championship tradition. He has helped return our men’s basketball program back to the pinnacle of the sport, including back-to-back NCAA Championships, and we’re grateful for his loyalty to UConn,” Athletic Director David Benedict said in a statement. “We look forward to Dan’s continued leadership on and off the court at UConn. He will continue to bring great pride to Husky fans everywhere as we work toward a three-peat.”
The declined offer would’ve made Hurley one of the NBA’s six highest-paid head coaches.
“As swept away as Hurley became by the Lakers’ courtship and vision for him, he ultimately couldn’t walk away from a chance to make history and pursue a third straight NCAA title. Even before Lakers talks, Hurley already had a UConn offer to become one of highest paid NCAA coaches and those talks will continue, per sources,” Wojnarowski posted to X.
The Lakers, hiring to replace Darvin Ham, reportedly had Hurley “at the forefront” of their head coaching search from the beginning of the process and were preparing a “massive, long-term” contract offer for the back-to-back NCAA champion, Wojnarowski first reported Thursday morning.
Dom Amore: It was business, but in the end Dan Hurley couldn’t tear himself from UConn
Hurley met with Lakers’ VP and GM Rob Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss in Los Angeles on Friday and flew home Saturday morning. He took in a Billy Joel concert at Madison Square Garden with his wife, Andrea, and assistant coach Luke Murray Saturday night and spent Sunday weighing the decision. UConn had the weekend off from summer practice.
The Lakers’ brass made a “compelling case” and presented a “compelling vision” for him to become their next head coach, according to Wojnarowski, and Hurley left Los Angeles “extremely impressed,” but still thinking about what he has built in Storrs over the last six years.
“Our MVP Coach is staying in CT. Now let’s get ready for a (three-peat), because Connecticut knows champions are built here!” Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont posted to X.
Hurley signed a six-year, $32.1 million contract extension after winning the 2023 national championship, which made him the state’s highest-paid employee. After winning again in April, and being named the 2024 Naismith and Big East Coach of the Year, he is expected to finalize a new extension that will put him among the highest-paid coaches in college.
“Look, he’s the very best in the business. Everybody knows that and we’ll make sure that he’s the top paid college coach,” Lamont told reporters in Fairfield on Monday, before Hurley’s return was made public. “I think it’s not about money for him. He’s always wanted to do something in the pros. Going for the three-peat at UConn is pretty good too.”
Hurley’s teams are 292-163 over his 14 seasons coaching in college at Wagner, then Rhode Island and UConn.
UConn is 141-58 (.709) and has made four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances under Hurley. The Huskies went 68-11 over the last two years without losing an NCAA Tournament game, winning a record 12-straight by 13 points or more.
Hurley returns to the roster he built to make history, to contend for a third NCAA championship in a row – something that hasn’t been done in more than 50 years.
