Virginia basketball head coach Tony Bennett announced his retirement today on October 18 after 15 seasons at the University of Virginia.
Bennett posted a 364-136 record at UVA, leading the Cavaliers to the 2019 NCAA Championship, two ACC Tournament titles, six ACC regular-season championships, and 10 NCAA tournament appearances. He was named ACC Coach of the Year in 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2019.
A three-time National Coach of the Year, Bennett amassed a 433-169 overall record over 18 seasons, including a 69-33 mark and two NCAA tournament appearances at Washington State from 2007 to 2009.
“I’ve been here for 15 years as a head coach, and I thought it would be a little longer, to be honest, but that’s been on loan,” Bennett reflected. “This position has been on loan, and it’s time for me to give it back. I’ve given everything I can for 15 years. When I came here, I was excited to challenge myself against Hall of Fame coaches—Coach K, Coach Roy Williams, Coach Gary Williams, Coach Boeheim. I wanted to see if my staff and I could build a program in our own unique way to compete against the Blue Bloods.”
University of Virginia Director of Athletics Carla Williams announced that associate head coach Ron Sanchez will serve as the interim head coach for the 2025-26 season.
“The University of Virginia is an amazing place because of people like Tony Bennett,” Williams stated. “Tony is a Hall of Fame coach and a remarkable human being. He dedicated his heart and soul to this program and the UVA community for 15 years, elevating our men’s basketball program to national prominence and securing our first NCAA championship. He led with pillars of humility, passion, unity, service, and gratitude, and we are all thankful for his contributions to college basketball and athletics. While I will miss him as our coach, I look forward to working with him in a new capacity to continue serving UVA and upholding our core values.”
Bennett was introduced as head coach of Virginia’s men’s basketball program on April 1, 2009, after three successful seasons at Washington State, where he led the Cougars to NCAA tournament appearances in 2007 and 2008. The 69 wins during his tenure at Washington State mark the highest three-year total in the school’s history.
After starting with a 31-31 record in his first two seasons at UVA, Bennett led the Cavaliers to a record nine consecutive seasons with 22 or more wins. In 2013-14, he directed UVA to its first 30-game winning streak since 1981-82, claiming both the regular-season and ACC Tournament championships while reaching the NCAA Sweet 16. The Cavaliers achieved a 30-4 record in 2014-15, capturing their second straight ACC title and advancing to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. UVA reached the NCAA Elite Eight in 2015-16 with a 29-8 record and posted a 31-3 record in 2017-18. They then won their first NCAA championship in 2018-19 with a 35-3 record, including a 17-1 mark in the ACC. Bennett became UVA’s all-time winningest coach with a victory over Syracuse on January 7, 2023, surpassing Terry Holland’s record, and notched his 400th career win against Wake Forest on January 21, 2023.
Bennett’s teams were known for their defensive prowess, leading the nation in scoring defense six times and finishing in the top six nationally for 13 consecutive seasons.
During his 15-year tenure, ten Virginia players were selected in the NBA Draft: Mike Scott (Atlanta, 2012), Joe Harris (Cleveland, 2014), Justin Anderson (Dallas, 2015), Malcolm Brogdon (Milwaukee, 2016), Devon Hall (Oklahoma City, 2018), De’Andre Hunter (Los Angeles Lakers, 2019), Ty Jerome (Philadelphia, 2019), Kyle Guy (New York, 2019), Trey Murphy III (Memphis, 2021), and Ryan Dunn (Denver, 2024). Anderson became the first Virginia player to be selected in the first round (21st overall) since Cory Alexander in 1995, while Hunter was UVA’s highest draft pick (4th overall) since Ralph Sampson in 1983.
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