Dan Hurley after meltdown, ejection: ‘I didn’t think I bumped the ref’

Marquette stunned No. 4 Connecticut 68-62 on Saturday in Milwaukee, and the game’s final second featured Huskies head coach Dan Hurley getting ejected after angrily confronting a referee.

Hurley appeared to bump referee John Gaffney, but he claimed otherwise during his postgame press conference.

“I didn’t think I bumped the ref,” Hurley told the media in Milwaukee. “I thought I got close to, like, yelling at John. If John thinks, like, yeah, I bumped him, then he’ll say I bumped him. But I don’t think I bumped the official. I think I yelled into the back of his head, ‘Foul! Foul!’ Listen, the officiating for us, it is what it is in this league. I’m not going to comment on that.”

UConn HC Dan Hurley shares his thoughts on his ejection during the upset loss at Marquette. pic.twitter.com/XavC1LgUh0

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 7, 2026

Hurley showed his frustration with officials throughout the night. He confronted referee Greg Evans after the Huskies were called for an over-the-back foul early in the second half.

Dan Hurley goes off at referee Greg Evans (And we’ll probably hear about it in the postgame press conference).

UConn-Marquette is in the second half on Fox, with Tim Brando on the play-by-play. 🏀🦓🎙️pic.twitter.com/NoHXVfQVD4

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 7, 2026

In the final seconds, UConn tried to tie the game on a drive to the basket, and no foul was called on Marquette, which set Hurley off. He received two technical fouls, resulting in an ejection.

Dan Hurley is ejected with 1 second remaining (after review) after losing his mind and bumping the ref, to cap off Marquette’s upset win over No. 4 UConn. pic.twitter.com/ocIKYLs3np https://t.co/IuBMtyfRqB

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 7, 2026

Here is the Dan Hurley bump on the ref.pic.twitter.com/nmr122UxLX

— ✶Ⓜ️𝕒𝕣𝕔𝕦𝕤 ▶️✶ (@_MarcusD3_) March 7, 2026

“You can’t touch the ref, though,” Fox color commentator Donny Marshall said as the broadcast showed the replay. “There was a bump there.”

“And the Big East office will see that,” play-by-play announcer Tim Brando said.

Hurley heard it from Marquette fans after he was ejected and headed to the tunnel.

Here’s the Dan Hurley exit as he hears it from Marquette fans after being ejected. pic.twitter.com/7tz8wxWFw5 https://t.co/F3F4o5oFxr

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 7, 2026

Whether it’s because of his antics on the court or his comments to the media, it’s constant drama, and sometimes just unacceptable behavior when it comes to Hurley.

Update: Just a few hours after the game, the Big East announced that Hurley has been fined $25,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct.

However, the conference claims that “a review by the conference office of the officials’ game report and available game footage could not confirm physical contact.”

“We hold our coaches to high standards of sportsmanlike conduct during game competition, and inappropriate interactions with our officials will not be tolerated,” Big East commissioner Val Ackerman said.