A new era of college basketball is here, and the closest thing it has to a “face” is University of Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley.
While Hurley’s Huskies weren’t the the championship favorites this season after back-to-back NCAA titles, he continued to make headlines for his cocky commentary and hot temper. But on Sunday, after a heartbreaking loss to 1-seed Florida in the Round of 32, Hurley brought a different energy to his postgame interview with CBS reporter Tracy Wolfson.
A tearful Hurley said the adversity this year’s team faced to emerge as an 8-seed in the tournament made it one of his favorite seasons as a coach.
“I thought we played with tremendous honor. I thought we played with the heart of a championship program,” Hurley told Wolfson. “Obviously, a worthy opponent like that, there’s honor in the way we went out.”
Asked by Wolfson what his message was to his UConn team, Hurley said that he told them he loved them.
“At times, I don’t think we liked each other a whole lot with some of the things we had to go through together,” Hurley said. “But I don’t think I’ll ever love a team more.”
UConn head coach Dan Hurley was very emotional in a CBS interview with Tracy Wolfson after the team’s NCAA Tournament loss to Florida.
“I don’t think I’ll ever love a team more…” #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/ib7ueiFpv7
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 23, 2025
Immediately after the interview, CBS cut back to the studio crew and analyst Clark Kellogg said what most of the audience was likely thinking. By making a point to address the loss with grace and celebrate his players even after a tough season, Hurley was upholding the honor that UConn has earned with its dominance this decade.
Hurley may have a so-so reputation among some college basketball fans and analysts given his public outbursts, but he knows he can’t have his cake and eat it, too. There’s no world where Hurley calls himself the best coach in the country, flirts with the NBA, and makes himself into a very polarizing public figure — but then goes out as a sore loser.
While Hurley was overheard by broadcast mics ripping the referees as he walked off the court, he knows that to really be the face of men’s college hoops and continue to attract top talent to Storrs, he has to be dignified in these moments. Hurley cut through the pain of falling short of an upset to give Wolfson and CBS a one-on-one that is sure to be viral across every sports show and social media feed in America this week.
