Virginia coach Tony Bennett — one of many winningest school basketball coaches within the historical past of the ACC and the game at giant, who delivered this system’s first and solely nationwide championship in 2019 — is retiring, the college introduced Thursday afternoon.

Bennett’s retirement is efficient instantly and he’ll maintain a information convention Friday. Virginia’s announcement Thursday didn’t embody a purpose for his retirement.

Affiliate head coach Ron Sanchez, who left the top teaching job at Charlotte final offseason to return to Virginia’s workers, is the probably option to be named interim head coach, though Virginia didn’t publicly identify one Thursday. The Cavaliers open the 2024-25 season in 20 days.

Bennett, 55, ends his profession not simply as Virginia’s all-time wins chief, possessing a 364-136 document over 15 seasons in Charlottesville, however as one of the crucial storied coaches in ACC and school basketball historical past. A 3-time Nationwide Coach of the Yr — as soon as at Washington State, and twice with the Cavaliers — Bennett is simply the third coach in ACC historical past to guide his staff to 10 consecutive seasons with a successful document in convention play, becoming a member of solely Corridor of Famers Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski.

Bennett flipped Virginia from an ACC afterthought to a nationwide energy, principally predicated on the vaunted packline protection he realized from his father, Dick, who himself was a head coach for 28 seasons. The Cavaliers had basketball historical past earlier than Bennett — particularly throughout Ralph Sampson’s prime within the early 1980’s, when Terry Holland led the Cavaliers to their first two Last Fours — however Bennett made the Hoos into certainly one of school hoops’ premier packages. From 2014 by 2023, UVa received the ACC outright or tied for first place six instances, a stretch that included incomes 4 No. 1 seeds within the NCAA Match. Virginia additionally received the ACC championship in 2014 and 2018, the primary two instances it had within the fashionable period.

After all, what Bennett is most well-known — or notorious — for is the truth that his Cavaliers grew to become the primary No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed within the NCAA Match, when his top-ranked Cavaliers fell 74-54 to UMBC in 2018. (No. 1 Purdue, which misplaced to No. 16 Saint Peters within the 2022 NCAA Match, is the one different such occasion.)

However the next season, with the core of that 2018 roster again, Bennett led Virginia on one of the crucial storied comebacks within the historical past of sports activities, when his Cavaliers overcame the reminiscence of that loss to win this system’s first nationwide championship in an 85-77 extra time win over Texas Tech.

One 12 months after a surprising upset loss to UMBC, Virginia below Tony Bennett received the 2019 nationwide championship (Ryan M. Kelly / Getty Photographs)

The title in 2019 not solely sealed Virginia as certainly one of school basketball’s finest tales, however it solidified Bennett’s legacy. Earlier than the championship, Bennett was considered as one other glorious coach who couldn’t get it achieved in March; regardless of having received ACC Coach of the Yr 4 instances (becoming a member of Smith and Krzyzewski as the one males to take action), it took that postseason redemption for him to be thought-about an all-time school basketball winner.

Along with his retirement, there are solely six remaining energetic coaches who’ve received a nationwide title: Dan Hurley (2), Rick Pitino (2), Invoice Self (2), Tom Izzo, Scott Drew, and John Calipari.

Along with his packline protection, Bennett’s tenure might be remembered for his participant improvement and the best way he slow-cooked expertise to create stardom. He drew a couple of high-profile recruits to Charlottesville alongside the best way — together with four-stars like Kyle Man, Mamadi Diakite, and Casey Morsell — however the majority of Bennett’s finest gamers took a number of seasons to emerge as prime school gamers. Ty Jerome, DeAndre Hunter, and Malcolm Brogdon, amongst others, have been all lower-ranked recruits who Bennett became not simply bona fide studs, however respectable NBA prospects.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, as identify, picture and likeness offers and freedom of participant motion modified the game, Bennett’s long-term system was examined. One high-profile recruit Bennett invested closely in, former wing Isaac Traudt, transferred to Creighton after redshirting his freshman 12 months at Virginia; Bennett admitted publicly he was stunned by that transfer, which highlighted (or made clear) school sports activities’ persevering with evolution.

Swimming upstream in opposition to that present, Bennett’s groups struggled extra currently than throughout his decade of excellence; UVa received the ACC regular-season title in 2021, however was bounced within the first spherical of the NCAA Match as a No. 4 seed by No. 13 Ohio. This system then missed the NCAA Match in 2022 — the primary time it had below Bennett since 2013 — earlier than being upset once more within the first spherical in 2023, once more as a No. 4 seed (this time to No. 13 Furman).

Final season, the Cavaliers bottomed out offensively, rating two hundredth nationally in KenPom’s adjusted offensive effectivity, its worst season-long rating below Bennett (outdoors of the COVID-19-canceled 2020 marketing campaign). Whereas Virginia made the NCAA Match, it misplaced within the First 4 to Colorado State, mustering solely 42 factors.

There have been rumors that Bennett was contemplating retirement late final season, however these have been seemingly put to mattress over the summer time when he signed a contract extension by 2030. Bennett then plunged additional into the switch portal than he ever had, signaling a potential modernization of his system; he added a number of starters, like T.J. Energy (Duke), Elijah Saunders (San Diego State), Dai Dai Ames (Kansas State), and Jalen Warley (Florida State). One scout who had been by Charlottesville this preseason — who spoke to The Athletic on the situation of anonymity, as a result of they aren’t licensed to talk publicly about school gamers — stated he was impressed with Virginia’s expertise stage and curious how Bennett would rebound after final season’s disappointment.

As a substitute, it’ll be another person tasked with maintaining Virginia in its present positioning within the school basketball pecking order. Bennett appeared at ACC Tipoff final week and spoke about his staff, so the timing is definitely shocking — particularly contemplating Virginia’s season opener is Nov. 6 vs. Campbell. However there may be some precedent for his late determination, even inside his household.

Probably the most well-known instance of a school basketball coach retiring proper earlier than the season was Smith, one other ACC legend, who famously walked away from a Last 4-caliber North Carolina staff simply two months earlier than the beginning of the 1997-98 season. A part of Smith’s motivation — and a potential signal of Bennett’s considering — was to make sure his prime assistant, Invoice Guthridge, can be his successor. Sanchez — who was certainly one of Bennett’s prime assistants from 2009 to 2018, when he bought the Charlotte job — is like Bennett’s model of Guthridge, and contemplating he left a D-I head -oaching job final summer time to return to Charlottesville as Bennett’s affiliate head coach, he’s now in line to doubtlessly be elevated like Guthridge was 25 years in the past.

However Bennett’s father, Dick, supplies one other instance, and maybe one other perception into Bennett’s considering. Dick resigned as Wisconsin’s head coach three video games into the 2000-01 season, citing burnout, and finally took two years off from teaching earlier than taking the top job at Washington State in 2003. He coached the Cougars for 3 years earlier than retiring and passing the baton to his son, who then went 69-33 in three seasons in Pullman.

(Picture: Ryan M. Kelly / Getty Photographs)