Appreciative Tony Bennett Steps Down as Top Coach for Virginia

Virginia head coach Tony Bennett announced his retirement on his own terms, celebrating the beauty of the game by standing on the pillars he used to construct a national championship team.

Bennett, playfully poking fun at his well-critiqued methodical style of play, stated that he won't miss answering questions about pace of play. However, he smiled through his emotions as he shared that he no longer felt he was the best coach to lead the Cavaliers' program.

\"I am extremely grateful,\" the 55-year-old Bennett said at a press conference on Friday. \"I think about those pillars: humility and passion. Humility means knowing who you are and having sound judgment. Passion means not being lukewarm, but wholeheartedly committing to everything you do. I believe it was these pillars that led me to have sound judgment about where we are at right now. That's probably what choked me up the most. When I looked at myself and realized that I am no longer the best coach to lead the program in this current environment. If you're going to do it, you have to be all-in. And if you aren't, it's not fair to the university or these young men.\"

Bennett met with players and coaches on Thursday to share his decision.

He admitted that he had considered retiring when the season ended. Throughout the offseason, while dealing with the toll of the relatively new and rapidly growing business side of college athletics, including open transfer windows and NIL demands, Bennett came to terms with stepping aside. He clarified that he was still capable of doing the job \"the old way\" and had no issue with student-athletes receiving revenue.

\"Please don't misunderstand me. But the game and college athletics are not in a healthy spot. There needs to be change,\" Bennett stated. \"... It's going to be more like a professional model. There needs to be collective bargaining. There has to be a limit on the salary pool that teams can spend. There has to be restrictions on transfers. There has to be limits on agent involvement with young players.

\"And I worry a lot about the mental health of student-athletes as all of this unfolds.\"

National championship-winning college coaches Jay Wright (Villanova) and Nick Saban, a seven-time title winner in college football at Alabama, have also cited the weight of similar off-field factors in their own retirements.

Bennett signed a long-term contract extension in June after bringing in an exciting class of transfers and recruits.

He revealed that he came to his final decision during fall break while on a trip with his wife, Laurel, to reflect and analyze the past, present, and future. He concluded that he needed to step away now to give coaches and players time to bond in scrimmages and practice before the regular season begins in the first week of November.

He plans to stay connected to Virginia and will be available if the university would like him to be involved.

\"I don't have a specific plan for what I'm walking into,\" Bennett said. \"My faith in the Lord is everything. It's the hope that I have. It's the peace that gives me perspective.\"

Bennett spent three seasons as the coach at Washington State (2006-09) before taking the Virginia job. He was motivated back then by competing with \"bluebloods\" and coaching against Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and North Carolina's Roy Williams. His sole goal was to \"build a program that lasts.\"

In 18 seasons as a head coach, Bennett has amassed a record of 433-169 (.719 winning percentage) and taken 12 teams to the NCAA Tournament, including 10 in his 15 years at Virginia. He received national college coach of the year recognition in 2007, 2015, and 2018.

The Cavaliers reached the Sweet 16 in 2014 and the Elite Eight in 2016. They were the No. 1 overall seed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament and became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16, UMBC, the year before returning to the dance and winning the program's first national championship in 2019.

\"What happened - which I had hoped for but didn't know - was beyond my wildest expectations. To win six regular-season ACC championships, two tournament championships, to reach the Sweet 16s and Elite Eights, and to win the national championship,\" Bennett said. \"The tough losses. The tough losses in the