Referee involved in Dan Hurley headbutt held out of Final Four

Roger Ayers, one of the most respected college basketball referees, will not be officiating any games during the 2026 Final Four. The news comes following the controversial moment between Ayers and UConn head coach Dan Hurley, who headbutted the referee following Braylon Mullins’ last-second three-pointer that helped the Huskies beat Duke in an instant classic on Sunday. Since the moment has gone viral, Ayers and Hurley have been asked about what happened, with Hurley seemingly joking that he thought the referee was going in for a chest bump.

Ayers, on the other hand, doesn’t see what the big deal is. “I talked to Roger today,” Seth Greenberg said . “He said, ‘What are you talking about?

’ He literally didn’t know what I was talking about. He said, ‘Nothing happened. The ball went in.

I was running back. They were celebrating. (Dan Hurley) leaned in, said something to me.