CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — One day after Tony Bennett shocked the college basketball world with news that he would retire just 20 days before his Virginia men’s basketball team is set to open its regular season, an emotional Bennett spoke publicly for the first time Friday morning about his decision.
The 55-year-old Bennett leaves the program as its winningest coach in history — a beloved players coach whose trademark defense and ability to develop talent will no doubt land him in the Hall of Fame soon.
But in recent years, the college model has become untenable for Bennett, whose philosophies didn’t always align with the name, image and likeness and transfer portal era of college athletics.
On Wednesday morning he called Virginia athletic director Carla Williams while she was fundraising in California to inform her he would be stepping down.
“When I looked at myself, I realized I’m no longer the best coach to lead this program in this current environment,” a choked up Bennett said between pauses as he collected himself. “And if you’re gonna do it, you’ve gotta be all in. You’ve gotta have everything. And if you do it half-hearted, it’s not fair to the university.
“There’s still a way in this environment. There’s a way with Carla and President (Jim) Ryan and the board to do it and to hold to our values but it’s complicated. And to admit honestly that I’m not equipped to do this, is humbling.
“I’m a square peg in a round hole.”
A growing trend of retirements
That Bennett decided to hang it up isn’t necessarily all that surprising, given the recent trend of Hall of Fame coaches calling it quits. Former Villanova coach Jay Wright retired at age 60 in 2022. Roy Williams, Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim have all left North Carolina, Duke and Syracuse, respectively.
The timing of Bennett’s decision, though — less than three weeks before the season begins — came as a shock. Just last week, he spoke at ACC media days like normal. And just four months ago, he signed a contract extension in June that would have kept him with the program through April of 2030.
“I signed it. I didn’t know if I’d be able to do the whole six or seven years obviously, but I was excited and thought, ‘I think I can do this. I’m excited about the way forward,’” said Bennett, who scored a major commitment on the recruiting trail when four-star point guard and Charlottesville native Chance Mallory committed to the program in September. “(But) it’s not fair to … continue on when you know you’re not the right guy for the job.”
Bennett indicated that his moment of clarity came during Virginia’s fall break last week, when he and his wife, Laurel Bennett, took a vacation to the Tides Inn on the Rappahannock River in Irvington, Va. There, they “just sat and talked,” he said.
Bennett and Williams had been having ongoing conversations for about three years about the landscape of college athletics, which Bennett believes are in “not in a healthy spot.” With the chance to truly reflect for the first time due to the chaotic nature of the recruiting calendar, the big picture became clearer for Bennett, who said he would like to live with no regrets and be a better husband, father, brother, friend and son to his 81-year-old parents.
“I think I was equipped to do the job here the old way,” Bennett said. “That’s who I am, and that’s how it was. My staff has buoyed me along to get to this point, but there needs to be change.
“It’s going to be closer to a professional model. … There’s got to be collective bargaining. There has to be a restriction on the salary pool that teams can spend. There has to be transfer regulation restrictions. There has to be some limits on the agent involvement to these young guys. And there are good agents, and there are bad agents, and they’re driving some of this stuff that we’re in.”
What’s next for UVA basketball
Moving forward, Williams confirmed that Bennett’s longtime assistant, Ron Sanchez, will serve as interim head coach this season. Bennett said Friday he always hoped one of his staffers would take over the program and is hopeful Sanchez can get his feet wet in the coming weeks with a couple of scrimmages before the Cavaliers open their season against Campbell on Nov. 6.
A national search will follow, though Williams — who had tears streaming down her face — said she did not have a timeline.
“When people like Tony Bennett exit men’s basketball, exit our industry for something that has nothing to do with coaching or teaching or being a role model, then shame on all of us,” Williams said about the position college sports finds itself in.
“I remain hopeful that we will have congressional intervention. I remain hopeful that we will find a way to preserve college athletics, which there’s nothing else like it in the world. And it has earned the right to continue. There will have to be change and we are a part of that change. But as it stands at the moment, there are no real rules or guidelines that create structure and so the people that follow the rules are the ones that are hurt the most.”
Asked about his next chapter, Bennett said he didn’t have any set plans but joked that if he could assist Virginia in a part-time role “with long vacation time,” he’d love to help the University in any way. He also mentioned being an advocate for student athletes and coaches to see if he could help usher in change.
On the jumbotron in John Paul Jones Arena, a photo collage of Bennett through the years lit up the screen with the words “Thank you Coach Tony Bennett.”
“I am at peace. And when you know in your heart it’s time it’s time,” Bennett said.
“Will I miss the game? Do I love the game? Absolutely. But I don’t think I’m equipped in this new way to coach and it’s a disservice if you keep doing that. I’m very sure that this is the right step. I wish I could’ve gone longer. I really do. But it’s time.”
(Photo: Ryan M. Kelly / Getty Images)
