Tony Bennett blames NIL for retirement, calls for 'change' in college sports in emotional conference
The University of Virginia shockingly announced that men’s head basketball coach Tony Bennett is retiring, effective immediately.
The season starts in less than three weeks, but in his retirement conference Friday, Bennett said he is not fit for the current state of college athletics.
“I realized I’m no longer the best coach to lead this program in the current environment. If you’re going to do it, you’ve got to be all in. You have to give everything. If you do it half-hearted. It’s not fair to the university and those young men. That’s what made me step away,” Bennett said.
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Virginia Cavaliers head men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett wipes his eye while speaking at a press conference announcing his retirement at John Paul Jones Arena. (Geoff Burke/Imagn Images)
“I think it’s right for student athletes to receive revenue, but the game in college athletics is not in a healthy spot. It’s not. And there needs to be change. It’s not going to go back. I think I was equipped to do the job here the old way — that’s who I am and that’s how it was — and 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.
“Will I miss the game? Do I love the game? Absolutely,” he added. “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 was time.”
Virginia Cavaliers head men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett reacts at a press conference announcing his retirement at John Paul Jones Arena. (Geoff Burke/Imagn Images)
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Bennett, 55, joined the Cavaliers ahead of the 2009-10 season, and he was .500 in his first two seasons. But he eventually found success. After missing the March Madness tournament in three of his first four seasons, the Cavaliers have gone dancing in nine of the last 10 tournaments.
Bennett drew scrutiny when his team became the first No. 1 seed to ever lose to a 16th seed, when UMBC dominated the Cavaliers in the first round of the 2018 tournament. Bennett and his Cavaliers came back with a vengeance, though, running the table to win it all the next year.
Recent years, though, have not been kind to Virginia. The Cavaliers have lost their last three games in the tournament. They were upset as a No. 4 seed in 2021 and 2023 and failed to get out of the First Four in March. In 2022, they were in the NIT.
Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Bennett after a victory against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at McCamish Pavilion. (Brett Davis/USA Today Sports)
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Prior to joining Virginia, Bennett coached Washington State for three seasons, making the tournament in two of those campaigns. He hangs up the clipboard with a 433-169 overall record, including 364-136 with Virginia.
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