-
Jeff Porcello, ESPN staff writer
Former Virginia men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett made his retirement official Friday morning, citing the “current climate” in college sports as one of the driving forces behind his sudden decision to step down with the Cavaliers.
“The hardest thing to say is when I looked at myself and realized I wasn’t the best coach to lead this program in this current environment,” Bennett said at his retirement news conference. “If you’re going to do it, you have to be whole-hearted, and if you do it half-heartedly, it’s not fair to the university and those young people. So looking at that, that’s what got me down.”
Bennett, 55, has long lamented the direction of college athletics and the transfer portal and overemphasis on name, image and unity.
“I think it’s right for student-athletes to receive revenue. Please don’t get me wrong,” he said Friday. “Sports and college athletics is not in a healthy place. It’s not. And there needs to be change and it’s not going to go back. I think I was ready to do the job here the way it used to be. That’s who I am.
“It’s going to be closer to a professional model. There’s got to be collective bargaining. There’s got to be a cap on the salary cap. There’s got to be transfer regulation restrictions. There’s got to be some limits on agency involvement for these young guys. … And as all of these things go down, the student-athletes I’m very concerned about mental health.”
Bennett said he initially thought about opting out at the end of the 2023-24 season, but he and his staff immediately began the rebuilding process, and he signed a contract extension in June that will keep him in Charlottesville through 2030.
Last weekend, however, retirement thoughts solidified when the university dropped out and Bennett and his wife, Laurel, moved out.
“Processed about what the future holds,” Bennett said. “I realized I couldn’t do this. It’s not fair to these people and this company that I want so much to continue when you know you’re not the right person for the job. .”
Associate head coach Ron Sanchez will take over the program this season. Sanchez was on Bennett’s staff from 2009 to 2018 before becoming the head coach in Charlotte for five seasons. In June 2023, Sanchez abruptly resigned as 49ers head coach and returned to Virginia to become Bennett’s associate head coach.
“When my time was up, I always believed it was either Ron or Jason [Williford]Two co-head coaches, somebody’s going to take it over,” Bennett said, “because it’s in a good spot.”
During Bennett’s 15 seasons in charge, he led the Cavaliers to unprecedented and consistent success. He is a two-time coach of the year who led Virginia to the national championship in 2019 and won six ACC regular-season titles and two league tournament titles.
“I wish I could have gone longer. I really do,” Bennett said. “But it’s time, I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t think we had the right group of young people and the right staff, and I think I’d still regret leading them this way. Rather than walking away with a little more energy, my biggest regret is not being able to commit to giving them everything.” will be
While Virginia has found itself in the national conversation more often than not under Bennett, the Cavaliers haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game since their national title run in 2019. They finished fifth in the ACC preseason poll released Wednesday.
“I know sometimes you get to a point where a win is more of a relief than a celebration, and it’s a pain to lose the sticks with you,” Bennett said. “That thing is starting to catch on.”
Before taking over at Virginia in 2009, Bennett led Washington State to two NCAA Tournament appearances in his three seasons as head coach at Pullman. The Cougars had 26-win seasons in 2006-07 and 2007-08, reaching the Sweet 16 in 2008.
He spent the previous three seasons as an assistant coach at Washington State after four seasons at Wisconsin under his father, Dick Bennett, and Bo Ryan.
Bennett played for his father in Green Bay, finishing his career as the Mid-Continent Conference’s leading career scorer and the NCAA’s leading career 3-point shooter. He was selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1992 NBA Draft and spent three seasons with the franchise.
Bennett’s retirement is similar to that of his two mentors. Bennett’s father retired from Wisconsin three games into the 2000–01 season and was replaced on an interim basis by assistant coach Brad Soderberg, who had been on Bennett’s staff at Virginia. Wisconsin eventually hired Ryan instead of giving Soderbergh the job. When Ryan retired from the Badgers, he played 12 games in the 2015-16 campaign.
During Friday’s news conference, Bennett said he can be an advocate for student-athletes and coaches in today’s changing college sports landscape.
“I fixed some,” Bennett said. “But can’t fight you.”
