When it was time to renegotiate UConn coach Dan Hurley's contract, UConn officials had to determine how much a college basketball national championship is worth. Hurley was being paid about $3 million per year, which was a solid salary, particularly for a coach sharing a campus with women's basketball legend Geno Auriemma.
But in the aftermath of the 2023 NCAA crown that Hurley brought to Storrs, a new deal was in order.
What is Dan Hurley's salary in 2024?
Dan Hurley currently earns $4.5m in base salary with incentives upto $500k. Hurley's highest projected salary is $5.85 million for the 2028-29 season.
In June, UConn announced a new contract with Hurley. The six-year deal, reported as a $32.1 million contract, features increasing salaries for each year, along with an annual $500,000 retention bonus for Hurley remaining at UConn.
One report indicated that in terms of annual average value, Hurley's deal ranked sixth among active college basketball coaches, with Kentucky's John Calipari noted with the highest salary, with an annual value of over $8 million.
Hurley's recent contract includes a hefty buyout to protect UConn should Hurley choose to leave. That buyout begins at $10 million during the 2023-24 season but will decline annually.
Exploring Hurley's previous salaries
Hurley, whose father, Bob, was a legendary high school coach, began his coaching career at a New Jersey high school, where his initial earnings were reported to be approximately $50,000. Hurley's first college coaching job was at Wagner, where he spent two years. He then moved on to Rhode Island for six seasons before moving to UConn in 2018
Hurley was already operating under a contract extension at UConn before the 2023 title and was under a contract with an approximate annual value of just under $3 million.
Dan Hurley vs. Geno Auriemma's compensation
Hurley's contract was particularly noteworthy as UConn's campus houses a pair of national title coaches. To be clearer, UConn women's coach Geno Auriemma has won 11 NCAA crowns, while Hurley just nabbed his first. Auriemma's compensation has been reported as being on an approximate annual value of $2.9 million, competitive with Hurley's salary before he won the national title.
Dan Hurley's production
Hurley took over a struggling UConn program and went 16-17 in 2018-19. UConn went 19-12 in the COVID-shortened following season. In the following two years, Hurley led UConn to the NCAA Tournament round of 64 with marks of 15-8 and 23-10. But last season, UConn won the NCAA title over San Diego State and posted a 31-8 record.
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