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Tony Bennett is retiring ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Virginia announced that decision on Thursday afternoon. Bennett’s decision comes roughly 3 weeks before the start of the 2024-25 college basketball season.
Per the program, Bennett will hold a press conference on Friday:
BREAKING: Tony Bennett to announce his immediate retirement in a press conference on Friday at 11 a.m. pic.twitter.com/jw9HYtyYaq
— Virginia Men's Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) October 17, 2024
At this time it’s unknown what has led Bennett to this decision. He appeared at ACC Tipoff just last week to preview the 2024-25 season for this Virginia team.
Bennett, 55, is one of the most accomplished college basketball coaches in the country. He’s been at Virginia since the 2009-10 season and also had a successful stint at Washington State. His coaching career is highlighted by Virginia’s national championship run back in 2019.
Bennett’s Virginia teams have always had a reputation of being elite defensively. His best teams, though, also had NBA-caliber players to help boost up their offensive numbers. Malcolm Brogdon, De’Andre Hunter, Ty Jerome, Joe Harris, Trey Murphy III and Kyle Guy are some of Bennett’s best players at Virginia over the years. Bennett also coached Klay Thompson during his time at Wazzu.
Bennett departs Virginia with a 364–136 record all-time. He also led the program to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances during his tenure.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
