Dan Hurley isn’t going anywhere.
UConn confirmed Friday that its men’s basketball coach has agreed to a two-year contract extension that keeps him with the Huskies through the 2031-32 season. Hurley had signed a six-year deal in 2024 with four years still left on it, and the school said UConn added two more years “under the existing terms.”
That 2024 contract was valued at $50 million, according to UConn at the time. Jon Rothstein of 247Sports first reported the extension on Friday and said Hurley will remain one of college basketball’s highest-paid coaches.
The numbers around Hurley’s deal put him in rare company. USA Today has not yet released its salary database for the 2026-27 season, but its April update listed only Kansas coach Bill Self at a higher annual salary than Hurley’s $8.03 million. Behind them were Arkansas’ John Calipari at $7.75 million, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo at $7.2 million and Tennessee’s Rick Barnes at $6.2 million.
Hurley is 53, which gives him a major age advantage on some of the sport’s other top earners. Self is 10 years older, while Izzo and Barnes are in their early 70s, leaving Hurley with plenty of earning power ahead of him.
UConn hired Hurley away from Rhode Island after the program moved on from Kevin Ollie, looking for a new direction. Ollie had delivered a national championship in 2013-14, but the Huskies reached the NCAA Tournament only twice in his six seasons.
Before Ollie, UConn had Jim Calhoun, the Hall of Famer who won three NCAA Tournament titles and went 127-79 from 2012-18 under Ollie’s predecessor. Hurley has topped Calhoun in winning percentage at UConn, carrying a .726 mark with a 199-75 record. Calhoun’s UConn record was 629-245, a .720 winning percentage, from 1986-2012.
Hurley’s first season in Storrs was rocky, with the Huskies finishing 16-17 in 2018-19. The next year they were 19-12 and looked NCAA Tournament-bound before the pandemic shut everything down.
Now the expectations are different. UConn opens the 2026-27 season Monday night at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Conn., against Gardner-Webb. Even with Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr. gone to the 2026 NBA Draft, the Huskies start the year ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll, behind Florida, Duke and Illinois.
In Other News...
UConn Heads Into A Road Test That Could Expose A Lot
A late-October trip to Colorado Springs already asks plenty of a visiting team, and UConn is staring at a road game that could reveal a lot about where it stands. The Huskies will face Air Force on Oct. 31, with Jason Candle spent time this week discussing how to blunt the Falcons run game and how the altitude adds another layer to the challenge.
Air Forces quarterback situation only adds to the uncertainty for UConn, which will have to prepare for a different look than usual and make quick adjustments once the game starts. For Candle and his staff, the bigger test may be handling all the variables at once: the Falcons option-heavy identity, a crowded quarterback room and the thin air that makes every series feel a little longer than the last. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Defense Faces Its Toughest Test At The Perfect Time
Jason Candle sounded pleased with the way UConn handled UMass, but his message this week was less about celebration than repetition. The Huskies have leaned on fundamentals and defensive discipline, and that approach has helped them become sturdier against the run as they get ready for a very different kind of opponent.
Air Force brings the sort of challenge that can expose every missed assignment, with a rushing-heavy attack that demands patience, leverage and constant attention to detail. UConns defensive players say they like the aggressive mindset theyve built, and this week will show whether that edge holds up when the pressure shifts from stopping a conventional ground game to dealing with one of the toughest looks in college football. [Read more 🡒]
UConn May Be Early On A Frontcourt Target Worth Watching
Jack Thelens recruiting picture has changed quickly this fall, and UConn is at least in the mix early for a frontcourt prospect worth monitoring. The four-star center in the Class of 2027 had previously committed to Wisconsin in June before backing off that pledge in mid-October, and he has since made a visit to Storrs as schools around the country reassess where they stand with the big man.
For UConn, the intrigue is less about a finished deal than about getting involved before the market gets louder. There is no public record of an offer from the Huskies yet, but Thelens profile suggests he will draw plenty of attention as his recruitment resets, especially with another Big East program already landing a prized center in Lewis Uvwo, whose commitment to Providence set a new high-water mark for that program's recruiting. [Read more 🡒]