Dan Hurley confirms UConn’s return to Jimmy V Classic at MSG in 2025 during Dick Vitale Gala

Head coach Dan Hurley has reportedly confirmed that the UConn Huskies are heading back to the Jimmy V Classic next season at Madison Square Garden. Hurley made the announcement at the Dick Vitale Gala on Friday.

This was subsequently reported on X by Jon Rothstein and reposted on Instagram.

"Dan Hurley announces at the Dick Vitale Gala in Sarasota that UConn will participate in the 2025 Jimmy V Classic at MSG."

The Jimmy V Classic is an event that is hosted and organized annually by ESPN Events. The event helps raise money for the V Foundation, which raises awareness for cancer research. The event has been hosted annually since 1995.

Each season, there are two games played at the Jimmy V Classic. In 2024, the Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Miami Hurricanes 75-62, and the Arkansas Razorbacks defeated the Michigan Wolverines 89-87.

The Huskies last appeared at the event in 2023 when they defeated North Carolina 87-76. That was their only appearance in the event to date. While Dan Hurley announced that his team will participate in the Jimmy V Classic this coming season, their opponent has not been announced, nor have any of the other participants.

Regardless of UConn's opponent, the game will be held on December 9th.

Dan Hurley and UConn will look to rebound after a disappointing 2025 season

Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies entered the 2025 season as two-time defending National Champions. They won the championship in 2023 and 2024, but had a disappointing run in 2025, exiting in the second round in a 77-75 loss to the future champion, Florida Gators.

One of the biggest things going into next season is the return of star forward Alex Karaban. Before the start of the season, it was a possibility that Karaban would enter the 2025 NBA draft after this season. However, he has opted to return to UConn for his senior season.

The Huskies also made a few additions via the transfer portal this spring. Most recently, the team secured the commitment of Dayton transfer Malachi Smith. Smith is coming off a breakout season where he averaged 10.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.0 steals per game.

The Huskies also added Georgia transfer Silas Demary Jr., who brings experience from the SEC. Demary had a strong year at Georgia, averaging 13.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. Dan Hurley and the Huskies will be hoping that these additions can help them get back to their championship form.

About the author

Alexander O'Reilly is a journalist at Sportskeeda from Kingston, Ontario with over seven years in the field at companies including SenShot, RVBlogger, Monarch Media, WordAgents, GSeC LLC, and IGC.

His favorite college team is Duke, and his favorite sporting memory was Duke winning March Madness in 2010. JJ Redick was Alex's favorite college player when he was young but more recently, Caleb Williams gets the nod. As the Chicago Bears are Alex's favorite NFL team, this was a perfect match.

Alex's proudest moment came when he was interviewed by a radio station in Ottawa on his opinion on recent moves by the Ottawa Senators, which gave him a confidence boost and the knowledge that he could succeed as a writer.

Aside from sports, Alex likes to spend his time playing games. He is also very passionate about running and strives to improve at the half and full marathon distances.

Know More

Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma, or Kim Mulkey - who is NCAAW's highest-paid coach? Find out here

Edited by Satagni Sikder