Win a national championship, earn a new contract.
UConn announced a new agreement with head men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley on Monday, his second in as many years, after winning a second consecutive NCAA title in 2024. The deal, which runs through the 2029-30 season, is worth about $50 million over the next six years and includes opportunities for additional compensation in the form of performance-based incentives.
The new deal includes increases in guaranteed money with less coming in the form of bonuses when compared to the six-year, $32.1 million contract Hurley agreed to last summer after winning the 2023 national title.
The new contract, which represents an $8.3 million annual average, puts Hurley – already Connecticut’s highest-paid state employee – among the top paid coaches in the nation before incentives. Only Kansas’ Bill Self ($9.63 million) and Kentucky’s John Calipari ($8.54 million) earned more than $8 million during the 2023-24 season, according to USA Today’s coach’s salary database.
Here are five differences between the contract Hurley signed in 2023 and the one announced Monday:
Hurley-friendly buyouts
Shortly after he climbed off the parade float in downtown Hartford, Hurley told reporters that he wouldn’t coach college basketball anywhere other than UConn. He also left the door open to potentially leave for a head coaching job in the NBA, something he still hopes to do at some point “way down the road.”
He had opportunities to take either path this offseason, his name mentioned during the Final Four as a target to replace Calipari at Kentucky and then his June flirtation with the Los Angeles Lakers.
If he had left for Kentucky, or any other Division I coaching job before March 31, 2024, Hurley would’ve owed UConn $10 million. The buyout before the same date in 2025 was $7.5 million, followed by $3 million in 2026, $2 million in 2027 and $1 million in 2028, with no buyout in 2029.
The new contract includes smaller buyouts, starting at $6 million if he leaves for another college job before March 31, 2025, then $4 million in 2026, $3 million in 2027, $2 million in 2028 and $1 million in 2029, with no buyout in the final year of the deal.
If he had gone for any NBA head coaching job before March 31, 2024, UConn would’ve been owed $2.5 million. The number shrunk to $1.875 million before the same date in 2025 (which would’ve been the buyout had he accepted the Lakers’ offer), then $1.5 million in 2026, $1 million in 2027 and $500,000 in 2028 with no buyout in the final year of the deal.
The new contract includes just a $2 million buyout if Hurley leaves before March 31, 2025, then $1.5 million before the same date in 2026 and $1 million in 2027. Interestingly, there is no buyout in the final three years of the deal should he leave for the NBA.
Incentives
While his new contract does not include the $15,000 automobile allowance that was part of the 2023 deal, Hurley will still receive 20 tickets to home and away games, travel benefits and one family membership to a Connecticut country club of his choosing.
The new contract also doesn’t include incentives for team academic performance, which were included in the 2023 agreement at a maximum of $200,000.
Athletic performance incentives were also decreased in the new deal. The reward for Big East regular season and tournament championships is now $50,000 as opposed to $100,000 in the previous contract. An NCAA Tournament appearance will earn Hurley $25,000 ($50,000 in previous contract), with the reward for advancing to the Round of 32 remaining at $50,000. A Sweet 16 appearance results in a $75,000 reward, down from $100,000 in the previous contract, and a spot in the Elite Eight earns Hurley $125,000 as opposed to $200,000 in the previous contract.
Hurley will receive $200,000 for reaching the Final Four (no change), $300,000 for making the national championship game (up from $200,000) and $500,000 for winning a national title (no change). The new contract does not include incentives for team rankings in the final AP or USA Today polls, which were $50,000 for being in the top 25 and $100,000 for being in the top 10 in the previous agreement.
The prize for winning conference coach of the year is now $25,000 (down from $50,000), but the $100,000 for national coach of the year recognition remains.
Retention bonus
On Nov. 15 of every year over the course of Hurley’s contract, he will now receive a $1 million retention bonus. That number is up from $500,000 in the previous deal.
Assistants
In what was seemingly an important part of Hurley’s negotiations, his assistants have also signed new contracts.
Associate head coach Kimani Young signed a three-year deal with a base salary of $400,000 and a supplemental salary beginning at $400,000 for the first year, then $425,000 in Year Two and $450,000 in the final year of the contract.
Assistant Luke Murray, credited for much of UConn’s offensive creativity, also signed a three-year deal with a $400,000 base salary. He will receive a $300,000 supplemental salary in the first year of the contract, then $325,000 in year two and $350,000 in the final year of the contract.
Both Young and Murray will receive a $50,000 retention bonus each year and are eligible for a maximum $50,000 performance bonus and a maximum $100,000 postseason bonus, which is based on how far the team gets in the NCAA Tournament.
Assistant Tom Moore, who won a pair of national titles as an assistant to Jim Calhoun and two more with Hurley, signed a one-year deal with a $375,000 base salary. He can earn up to $50,000 in postseason bonuses depending on the team’s March Madness success.
The maximum discretionary assistant/associate head coach bonuses included in Hurley’s contract remains at $500,000, and Hurley is not eligible to receive any portion of these bonuses.
Investments in the program
Language for additional investments into the men’s basketball program was not written into Hurley’s new contract, though support for additional staff members, NIL, arena upgrades and other enhancements were presumably discussed during the negotiation process.
Connecticut House Speaker Matt Ritter told The Courant in June that “the XL Center will be renovated north of $115, $120 million, and Gampel will see a $100 million renovation as well.”
