University of Connecticut men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley turned down a lucrative six-year contract offer from the Los Angeles Lakers.
Hurley broke his silence on Thursday, revealing that he wasn’t rejecting an offer from the Lakers to gain an advantage over his current employer.
The two-time national championship coach said he had already agreed to terms on a new contract with the University of Connecticut before turning down the offer from the Lakers.
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Connecticut Huskies head coach Dan Hurley cheers on his team during the men’s NCAA national championship game against the Purdue Boilermakers on April 8, 2024, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale. (Joe Rondone/The Republic/USA Today Network)
“One of the worst perspectives I’ve heard is that this is a ploy on my part to improve my standing at the University of Connecticut,” the Huskies coach said during a recent appearance on “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stuggotts.”
“I don’t need influence here. We’ve won back-to-back national championships here. This wasn’t an influence situation for me.”
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“I’ve been under contract for the last few weeks, and the final piece regarding salary has been in place for some time. There are some areas I’d like to adjust, like NIL and staff salaries, but I’m not comfortable with that. But the idea that this is some kind of conspiracy to get me a better contract at UConn is just negligent.”
Dan Hurley of the Connecticut Huskies signals to his players during the national championship game against the Purdue Boilermakers at State Farm Stadium on April 8, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona. (Mitchell Leighton/Getty Images)
Connecticut has yet to announce a new contract for Hurley, who coached last season on a six-year, $32.1 million deal. Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self is the highest-paid college coach.
Hurley visited Los Angeles and met with Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and team owner Jeanie Buss. Hurley did not meet with LeBron James, but did exchange text messages with the four-time NBA champion.
“We received some text messages… [James] “We talked throughout the weekend about basketball and stuff and he let me know that if he was in L.A., I’d be there cheering for him,” Hurley told Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd on Thursday’s “The Herd.”
Hurley said the decision to continue coaching in Los Angeles or stay in Connecticut in pursuit of a third consecutive national championship wasn’t an easy one.
“It was a heartbreaking decision for me,” he said. “Sunday night, heading into Monday, I had this deadline in my head and my mind was racing. I didn’t really know what I was going to do until I went to bed.”
Dan Hurley of the Connecticut Huskies reacts during the first half of the NCAA national championship game against the Purdue Boilermarks at State Farm Stadium on April 8, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Hurley acknowledged the Lakers would have had to make him an offer he couldn’t refuse in order to leave the University of Connecticut.
“To leave, perhaps [a number]”I would say that leaving somewhere is not a motivating factor at any point in life, but there are definitely financial issues to leave somewhere. I don’t think staying somewhere would ever be an issue. Staying at a place like the University of Connecticut would never have been a financial issue.”
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Hurley reiterated that he wasn’t signing with the Lakers as a “pressure tactic” and that he is already slated to become the highest-paid coach in college basketball.
“This wasn’t a pressure tactic to make me the highest-paid college coach — that was already done — but it’s leaving a place that feels the same way we do and the family connections with my wife, my sons, my mother-in-law and my dad. … I know how much it meant to my dad to go to the Big East Tournament, watch UConn games 10 times a year at home and sit courtside as a coach facing Rick Pitino. There’s probably going to be a lot of challenges in leaving all that behind.”
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