Connecticut Huskies head coach Dan Hurley takes the court before the first half of an NCAA basketball game against the St. John’s Red Storm at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion on February 7, 2025 in Storrs, Connecticut.

Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images

UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley called himself “the best coach in the (expletive) sport,” to a referee in a clip that went viral earlier this season. But is Hurley being paid like it? 

USA Today released a list of the highest paid men’s college basketball coaches this week and it ranks Hurley the third highest. The database puts his total pay at $7,775,000, slightly below Arkansas’ John Calipari and about $1 million below the top-paid coach Kansas’ Bill Self.

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Hurley signed a new deal worth about $50 million last year after a second national championship and being courted by the Los Angeles Lakers. The USA Today data base says Hurley’s maximum bonus is $1.5 million and that he was paid $1.95 million in bonuses last season. Hurley’s buyout is placed at $42,789,583 as of Apr. 1, 2025 – the highest in men’s college basketball.

Hurley would earn $50,000 if the Huskies win the Big East Tournament this week and $25,000 for an NCAA Tournament berth. He also can earn an annual retention bonus of $1 million on Nov. 15 if he’s still working at UConn.

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Hurley was ranked third on the USA Today list last year.

In terms of the Big East, Marquette’s Shaka Smart is the next highest paid coach with a contract of $3,040,784. He was ranked No. 44 on this list. Creighton’s Gregg McDermott was No. 46 on this ranking with a salary of $2,939,696. Villanova’s Kyle Neptune is making $1,254,491 slotting him as the 71st highest paid coach.

Among the coaches that did not release this information were: USC’s Eric Musselman, Notre Dame’s Micah Shrewsberry, BYU’s Kevin Young, Syracuse’s Adrian Antry, and Yale’s James Jones.

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March 13, 2025