LOUISVILLE, Ky. –– Rhode Island officials met this week with Wagner head coach Dan Hurley and athletic director Thorr Bjorn is looking to end the search by the Final Four, industry sources told SNY.tv.
Hurley, 39, just completed his second season at the Staten Island school, turning around a program that went 5-26 two years ago and leading it to a 25-6 campaign.
Wagner lost in the Northeast Conference semifinals to Robert Morris and was not extended an NIT bid. The school declined opportunities to play in other postseason events.
Hurley and his wife, Andrea, have two sons and have long been deeply rooted to their home in New Jersey.
Yet the opportunity for a higher-paying, higher-profile job could be too much to pass up.
Hurley stands to make up to five times more at Rhode Island than he does at Wagner.
The median salary for men’s basketball coaches in the Atlantic 10 is reportedly about $750,000 per year, and Wagner likely would be unable to match that.
According to GoLocalProv.com, Rhode Island is also considering former Rams coach Al Skinner, Kansas assistant coach Joe Dooley and Drexel’s James “Bruiser” Flint, who has a connection to Thorr from their time at UMass.
Tusker / March 15, 2012
URI? I don’t know, I believe Danny can name his job (at least that’s my perception of it).. continue on at Wagner!!
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