Dan Hurley Laments UConn’s Limited Media Coverage: 'Should Be Celebrated More'
UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley has a chip on his shoulder that’s never going away.
Hurley’s teams embody that same underdog attitude even while dominating the field, making UConn men’s basketball one of the most unique programs in sports.
Everyone involved with championship teams says it’s hard to reach the mountaintop but even harder to stay on top once you’re there. Human nature becomes one’s biggest enemy. Complacency eats away at the fabric of great teams, allowing hungrier upstarts to seize the throne.
Hurley’s group avoided such a fate in 2023-24, ultimately pulling off a more dominant NCAA tournament as defending champions than the program did the year prior in pursuit of the first title (and fifth overall in program history).
Hurley’s DNA will continue to have UConn fighting off complacency like it's the plague, but not all of the team's motivation is self-created. The Huskies have collected their fair share of bulletin board material, even while sitting atop the mountain.
One exterior motivator is the limited media coverage that UConn's received despite winning back-to-back titles.
According to Hurley, UConn’s dynasty-in-the-making hasn’t received the level of national or global media exposure that a program of its caliber deserves, an observation that is difficult to refute. Hurley recently discussed the matter in an exclusive interview with Graham Besinger.
“We don’t get as much coverage (as we should),” Hurley said. “We should be the consensus No. 1 team going into next year. … We’ve been one of the best sports organizations the last two years. The talent, the teamwork, the energy that we play with. The excellence, the old school values of players holding each other accountable. Coaches holding players accountable. Striving for championships. Dominating in pressure moments.”
Hurley also theorized that his and UConn’s value systems don’t align with the clickbait, attention-seeking priorities of modern media, which might account for somewhat of a void in exposure for the Huskies program.
“We suck here at creating social media buzz and dropping TikToks. … The things that we stand for should be celebrated more.”
If Hurley and UConn continue on the trajectory of winning that they’ve established over the last few years, there will soon come a time when the program is simply too historically relevant for the world of sports to keep downplaying.
On the other hand, Hurley’s Huskies — in being both old-school and ahead of their time — might be destined for under appreciation in the present, only to be fully acknowledged by posterity.
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-6cddf44b9a81eadb9d1a4c19c1b3db49.jpeg "Colin Keane")
Colin Keane is a contributing journalist for "UConn Huskies On SI." Born in Illinois, Colin grew up in Massachusetts as the third of four brothers. For his high school education, Colin attended St. Mark's School (Southborough, MA), where he played basketball and soccer and served as student body president. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Villanova University. Colin currently resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "UConn Huskies On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org