Dan Hurley spent part of his weekend at the White House watching UFC fights set up on the South Lawn. And by the time the main card ended, the UConn coach had a new idea bouncing around his head: why not do the same thing with college basketball?
Specifically, he wants his Huskies to play Duke on that same grassy patch of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. TMZ Sports caught up with Hurley and asked if he’d be interested in a White House hoops game. His answer was immediate.
“That would be good, man. I think UConn should definitely be in it, maybe UConn vs. Duke,” Hurley said. “That would be pretty cool. I’m definitely down.”
The UFC held a fight card at the White House as part of an event tied to President Trump’s administration, and it got Hurley thinking about the possibilities. Outdoor college basketball games aren’t unheard of. Iowa and DePaul played an exhibition in front of a massive crowd at Kinnick Stadium during Caitlin Clark’s senior season. That game set an attendance record. There have also been men’s games staged on Navy aircraft carriers, though those were eventually shelved because of weather and logistics headaches.
So a White House game would be a different kind of outdoor challenge. The lawn isn’t exactly a regulation court, and November in Washington D.C. can get cold. But Hurley seems to think the spectacle alone would be worth it.
He might get a chance to see how that matchup plays out first. UConn and Duke are already scheduled to meet in November at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas during non-conference play. It’s a rematch of last season’s Final Four game, which UConn won on a buzzer-beater by Braylon Mullins. Both programs are expected to be among the best in the country for the 2026-27 season.
Hurley is heading into his ninth season at UConn with a 350-180 record and two national titles on his resume. He’s got the cachet to float ideas like this and have people actually take them seriously. Whether the White House ever greenlights a college basketball game remains to be seen. But Hurley has already planted the seed.
And if it does happen, he made it clear who he wants on the other sideline.
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