Tony Bennett's Unexpected Decision Leaves ESPN Analyst in Disbelief

Tony Bennett shocked the college basketball community when he abruptly retired as the Virginia men's basketball coach, effective immediately, the school announced Thursday.

No reason was given for Bennett's sudden decision to retire with the Cavaliers' first game of the season just three weeks away.

Virginia will open its campaign against Campbell on Nov. 6.

Bennett, 55, is retiring from the college game with the season opener just three weeks away. The Cavaliers will open their campaign on Nov. 6 against Campbell.

ESPN's college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg expressed his shock at the news, but he already had an inkling that Bennett would make the tough decision.

Not just this soon.

"I'm shocked because of the timing," Greenberg said . "I'm not totally surprised because there were some rumblings last spring, a little bit, that Tony was not totally comfortable with the culture and the environment that surrounds college basketball and that he's got core beliefs, non-negotiables."

"Now look, I am not an insider, and I don't know something. I do know that Tony Bennet was everything good about college basketball. He's a great teacher. He's a great ambassador. He's there for all the right reasons. He built the program with really good players who bought into being part of something greater than themselves. He always carried himself in a manner that you would want to carry yourself if you had a model to follow."

Bennett is the latest coach from a big college program to retire in the NIL and transfer portal era following Jay Wright of Villanova in 2021.

Bennett's contract would have run until the 2029-30 season. He's leaving the Cavaliers five years after he led them to the national championship in 2019.

Bennett was a two-time national coach of the year and won six ACC regular-season titles and two ACC tournament titles in 15 years at the helm of the Cavaliers' basketball program. He leaves the college game with a 433-169 coaching record, including 364-136 with the Cavaliers.

Related: Tony Bennett Retiring as Virginia Cavaliers Basketball Coach, Effective Immediately