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The classic phrase is "behind every great man is a great woman." The adage is supposed to mean that every great man has had the necessary support from a great woman to achieve what he did.
Dan Hurley has developed into one of the best coaches in college basketball. He has led the UConn Huskies men's basketball team to two national championships and to the 2026 Final Four. Hurley has done plenty to keep the spotlight on himself, but many are familiar with his wife, who is loudly supportive of her team and has given quite the viral interview in her time.
Andrea Sirikades met Hurley when they were both at Seton Hall together. While she was still a student, the two were married, and have been married for close to 39 years. Andrea has gone viral for moments where she talks about how she doesn't baby her husband and support him after losses, and instead takes a blunt approach to get him back on the horse rather than worrying about "this stupid game."
Here is more on Hurley's wife, who helps to keep UConn in check.
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Who is Dan Hurley's wife?
Hurley is married to Andrea Sirikades. The two are college sweethearts, and over the years, she has become an extremely supportive faux assistant coach, helping keep the team in check behind the scenes.
Andrea admits that she thinks she feels more nervous before a game than he husband does. She said in an interview with WFSB, "There’s a lot of nerves. Cause I want it so bad for these kids. I mean, I’m a crier, and they mean the world. I just don’t want this to end. It’s not easy playing for my husband and the staff. They expect a lot from these kids, not just on the court but off the court. Academically, the way that they carry themselves."
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How did Dan Hurley meet his wife?
The Hurleys met when they were students at Seton Hall. Dan said in an interview with WTNH, "I met her at Seton Hall. It’s like, by far, the best thing that happened to me at Seton Hall, but that was the thing that saved my life when I met her and changed my life and made me want to be better.”
About their relationship, Andrea said, "I didn’t know his story. And then, you know, you just became we just became friends, and next thing you know, we’re engaged. We’ve been best friends ever since.”
The couple got married on August 29, 1997, in Shrewsbury, New Jersey. The date itself is more significant because Dan now shares the same wedding anniversary as his parents.
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Andrea Hurley interviews
Hurley became friends with Nicole Kellogg, who was then the coach at Massachusetts. They realized they had a lot in common and wondered if other coaches' wives experienced the same things. As a result, they started the "Ball is Wife" podcast in 2021.
About the podcast, Andrea said, "Who else feels like us? Is anybody else going through this? What do other coaches’ wives do on game day? What do other coaches’ wives do when you have four losses in a row? Like, what do you do? How do you feel? What about your kids? How are your kids reacting to this profession and the good and the bad that come with it?” The podcast had six episodes.
While the podcast didn't run for long, the premise was there because Hurley has had some great interview moments. She sat down with "The Field of 68" podcast and talked about how her husband is a germaphobe, but is superstitious, so he wears the same lucky dragon underwear, socks and t-shirt every game. She said, "This has been going on for years. The sinks in hotels are gross. So I bought this bucket, it’s a collapsible bucket. … And I would fill the bucket, usually in the shower, because you can’t get it under the sink and it’s a big ordeal."
Hurley is also very protective of the UConn players. In the same interview, she had a message for a certain sect of Huskies fans.
"We have the best fans. But then there’s those few that are a—holes," Andrea said. "It’s just like, ‘Who the frig are you?’ These guys are working their a— off. If you’re not with us, you’re against us. And go up the road to Providence, I think they need more a—holes, they have tons of them. I don’t like that s---. It’s a shame that a few of these fans, they get to our kids, don’t get in my kids' heads.”
Hurley takes an interesting stance when trying to motivate Dan. After a loss, Dan Hurley said in an interview with Graham Bensinger, that there have been times after games where he was expecting positive messages, but instead he was met with, "you're a lousy coach, you were acting like a baby last night, why don't you take out the garbage because you're no good at coaching."
Andrea takes a very blunt approach to telling Dan that it is a game and doesn't matter as much as he thinks it does.
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