UConn Coach Dan Hurley Fined by Big East for Altercation With Official in Loss to Marquette

As anticipated, the UConn coach has been fined.

UConn coach Dan Hurley was ejected late in Saturday's road loss to Marquette. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

UConn coach Dan Hurley was swiftly fined $25,000 by the Big East conference on Saturday night after a late-game double technical that sent him to the locker room in the final second of his team’s stunning 68–62 loss to Marquette earlier in the day. The league cited “unsportsmanlike conduct” as the reason for the fine.

“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 in a statement.

With 10 seconds to go and the fourth-ranked Huskies trailing by two, Silas Demary Jr. went up for a layup and was contested by Marquette forward Ben Gold. Despite some contact, no foul was called, as the officials determined that Gold stayed vertical in legal guarding position.

Hurley immediately got in official John Gaffney’s face and aggressively pleaded his case that a foul should have been called. It appeared that Hurley may have bumped Gaffney during the altercation. The Big East was unable to confirm that Hurley made contact with Gaffney when he got in the official’s face.

“Initial speculation on the game broadcast indicated possible contact between Hurley and the official; however, a review by the conference office of the officials’ game report and available game footage could not confirm physical contact,” Ackerman said.

What Dan Hurley said postgame about his ejection

Hurley did not believe that he came into contact with Gaffney prior to being ejected from the game.

“I don’t think I bumped the ref,” Hurley said after the loss. “I thought I got close to like yelling at John [Gaffney]. If John thinks I bumped him, 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!’ And then, yeah, I mean you’re … listen, the officiating for us, you know, it is what it is, you know, 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

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UConn, of course, is a shoo-in to make the NCAA tournament, while Marquette will use this win as a building block for its young players heading into next season. It is possible that Saturday’s loss to the Golden Eagles could impact the program’s seeding. Heading into the day, UConn was viewed as a fringe No. 1 seed. This loss could lock them in on the 2-line, depending on how conference championship week shakes out across college basketball.

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