Dan Hurley and back-to-back champion UConn will head to the White House to be honored by President Joe Biden

After winning back-to-back NCAA championships, the UConn Huskies and coach Dan Hurley are set to visit the White House to celebrate the title with President Joe Biden. Scheduled for Sept. 10, the Huskies will be joined by the South Carolina Gamecocks, who won the women's championship.

This trip to Washington, D.C., will be the sixth time for the Huskies after 1999, 2004, 2011, 2014 and 2023. UConn had an almost-perfect run to the championship with a 37-3 overall record. Hurley's team won the Big East regular season and Big East Tournament championship before winning March Madness.

With the upcoming season, Hurley has been preparing his team for a three-peat. If they do it, UConn will be the first team since UCLA to win the NCAA championship three times in a row. The Bruins won seven consecutive titles from 1967 to 1973 under coach John Wooden.

Hurley's plans for the 2024-25 season have been in the making from the moment UConn won the championship in April. Speaking to College Hoops Today in June, he said:

"On the plane home from Phoenix to Connecticut the day after the national title game, maybe for an hour or so. I was thinking about the roster and thinking about where the sites are for the 2025 NCAA Tournament."

Dan Hurley names his Ruler of the Jungle role over White House visit

The Cincinnati Bengals will play their season opener against the New England Patriots on Sunday. Taking the role of the Ruler of the Jungle is long-time Bengals fan Dan Hurley.

Per the team's website, the Ruler of the Jungle is a pregame tradition where a chosen celebrity will lead the "Who Dey" chant at the Paycor Stadium. The Huskies coach commented on this:

"For me, minus just winning it, minus cutting down the nets, for me, it's better than going to the White House, or anything. I don't play golf. I've got my family. I've got my program, and the Bengals are kind of like my interest, my hobby. I'm a total fan boy with it."

Hurley's love for the Bengals first began when he was a 9-year-old watching the Freezer Bowl on TV in 1981. For the first time in its history, Cincinnati won its spot in the Super Bowl by defeating the Chargers.

"All these guys on the Chargers are wearing big-ass parkas, hoodies, and big hats and gloves," Hurley said. "And (Anthony) Munoz and the boys come running out in just pants and jerseys, and I think, 'I want those guys to win. Those guys are tough as hell. I like those guys.'"

The Bengals-Patriots game will kick off at 1 pm EST on Sunday.