UConn Coach Pledges NIL Funds to Big East Rival Seton Hall

Connection between Huskies coach Dan Hurley and his alma mater runs deep

Dan Hurley is the men’s basketball coach at UConn. He presides over the program that is the defending national champion and has a team this season that has repeat potential.

Like all college graduates, he has an alma mater. Like many coaches across the country, that alma mater is different than his current employer.

But it’s not every day that the alma mater and the employer are in the same conference, nor is it every day that said coach announces his intention to donate money for NIL activities at his alma mater.

That’s what Hurley recently told NJ.com. Hurley will donate money to be used for NIL purposes to his alma mater Seton Hall, which is a rival of UConn’s in the Big EAST.

Hurley’s donation, of course, comes with a caveat - and it’s one that may keep the Pirates waiting a while.

“I got a lot of love for Seton Hall,” he said. “When I’m done at UConn and out of the Big East, I will give to NIL at Seton Hall.”

How long could it be? Well, he’s 50 years old and just signed a six-year deal with the Huskies valued at $32 million. So the Pirates may be waiting a long time for that help.

But he’s probably good for it. Hurley is a Jersey City native. His father, Bob, is a legend who coached at St. Anthony’s High School and is in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Plus, the leadership at Seton Hall’s collective, Onward Setonia, knows how to track the UConn coach down. Jerry Walker, one of the alums who runs it, played with Hurley at Seton Hall.

Even Walker knows it might be a while.

“But I think it’s noble for him to do something like that, to think about Seton Hall,” Walker said to NJ.com. “Danny didn’t have a great experience there and for him to make that sort of commitment, I don’t care what the time frame is, it just shows a lot about his character. And I appreciate that.”

Hurley played from 1991-96 for the Pirates, spending his first three seasons under coach P.J. Carlesimo.