GLENDALE, Ariz. — Dan Hurley entered rare air on Monday night, becoming just the third men’s college basketball coach to repeat as a national champion since the end of John Wooden’s UCLA dynasty in the 1970s. And when it was over — a 75-60 victory over Purdue marking Connecticut’s 12th consecutive NCAA Tournament win by double digits — Hurley found himself in another very small club: coaches who’ve won it all and immediately had to address the possibility of leaving for another program. Such is life when you’re the hottest coach in the sport and the Kentucky job unexpectedly becomes available on the eve of the championship game.
“I don’t think that’s on my mind,” Hurley told The Athletic. When asked more directly if there was any way he’d entertain the Kentucky job, Hurley responded: “No way.”
UConn athletic David Benedict told The Athletic after Monday night’s championship game that the program would do “everything we can to remain in position to win championships.”
“The market is the market and Kentucky is obviously Kentucky, but last time I checked, we won the last two national championships and we’ve got six of them,” Benedict said. “So I think UConn is a pretty good job and Dan’s doing an unbelievable job. We obviously hope that he’s with us for a long time. UConn has a tradition of keeping coaches that have reached Hall-of-Fame level success at UConn for a long period of time — coach (Jim) Calhoun, coach (Geno) Auriemma. I’m sure they had plenty of opportunities to leave and we certainly hope that Dan follows suit.”
Kentucky, an eight-time national champion and one of the two winningest programs in college basketball history, suddenly needs a new coach because Hall of Famer John Calipari pulled a stunner late Sunday night when he agreed to take the same job at Arkansas. He was halfway through a 10-year, $86 million deal, but hadn’t been past the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament since signing that contract in 2019. The Wildcats have deep pockets, all the trappings of a blue blood and they need to nail this hire for a passionate and impatient fan base.
Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart needs to take big swings, and Hurley might be the biggest swing. He just became the first coach to go back-to-back since Billy Donovan at Florida in 2006 and 2007. Mike Krzyzewski and Duke also repeated in 1991 and 1992. After his first title last season, Hurley signed a new six-year, $32.1 million contract that pays him an average of $5.35 million and tops out at $5.8 million in Year 6. UConn would be owed a $7.5 million buyout if another school hires him away after this season.
Given Connecticut’s challenging financial situation — and Kentucky’s status in the money-printing SEC — it stands to reason the school that was set to pay Calipari $9 million a year on the back end of his last deal could significantly outbid the Huskies if money matters to Hurley.
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