Dan Hurley Admits He Made His Wife Leave UConn’s Final Four Game to Find His 'Lucky' Bracelet
· Yahoo Sports
Credit: Eugene Gologursky/Getty for Connecticut Children's Hospital Foundation; Michael Reaves/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Dan Hurley and his wife, Andrea, were scrambling before UConn's Final Four game
- The UConn head coach said he was "freaking out" because he didn't have the beaded bracelet he's worn for every game
- UConn went on to beat Illinois 71-62 to advance to the March Madness championship game, where they lost to Michigan
Dan Hurley is superstitious — and isn't afraid to admit it.
The University of Connecticut men's basketball head coach is attached to one item in particular: a beaded bracelet that he's worn his entire coaching career, which almost didn't make it to team's Final Four game against Illinois on Saturday, April 4.
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Hurley and his wife Andrea Hurley recounted the "insane" journey to get his bracelet to the court on her Instagram Stories before UConn's national championship game on Monday, while giving a breakdown of their outfits.
"So I got to the arena and my one job was to fix his lucky Jesus bead bracelet," Andrea, Dan's wife of more than 25 years, recalled, while explaining that the bracelet sometimes needs extra beads that she had brought along with them to Indianapolis for the tournament.
Dan and Andrea Hurley.Credit: Dan Hurley/Instagram
"Right before the game's going to start, I've worn these beads every game I've ever coached my whole career. And I noticed like 12 minutes before the game was about to start that I had no beads," Dan said.
"I wish noticed that an hour and 12 minutes before the game started," joked Andrea.
Dan, who added that he had worn the bracelet during his high school coaching days over 20 years ago, said he was "freaking out," and had his assistant coach, Luke Murray, call Andrea to get the bracelet and bring it to the game.
"You wanna know how the beads got there?" Andrea asked viewers in the video. "I actually was going to my seat and had to leave the arena, get somebody to send me an unused ticket... drove me to the hotel where I had to grab the beads... I actually have extra beads to string them."
Dan Hurley and Andrea Sirakides Hurley.Credit: Dan Hurley Instagram
"Then, we got a police escort back to the arena to get the beads because the game started," she continued. "So I was actually watching it on the TV in the hotel as I was there. I'm sweating... so the beads made it back thanks to me, but I ran in the rain. That's why I look crazy."
While Dan recalled being "down one point when the beads got there," he ultimately coached UConn to a 71-62 victory over Illinois to advance to the national championship game. That, though, was where his luck ran out as the University of Michigan beat them 69-63.
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“They're legit," Dan admitted after the game, per ESPN. "They definitely deserved to win the national championship. They're clearly the best team in the country this year."
Hurley’s squad proved resilient through the season and the past two weeks as they fought their way to the national title game — the team’s third in the last four seasons.
Head Coach Dan Hurley of the UConn Huskies reacts toward a referee during the first half against the Michigan Wolverines in the National Championship of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 6 in Indianapolis, Indiana.Credit: Brett Wilhelm/NCAA Photos via Getty
"Proud of the guys," Hurley said at the post-game press conference, according to the AP.
Dan has been married to Andrea since 1997, and the pair have two children. They welcomed their first son, Danny, in 1999, and their second son, Andrew, three years later.
Both of their sons followed in Dan's footsteps, with Danny attending his parents' alma mater Seton Hall University and Andrew playing basketball at UConn under his dad’s coaching.
“I don’t have a lot of friends, to be honest. Andrea and my boys are who I have, and they’re my world,” Dan told FOX Sports in January 2023.
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