Virginia basketball coach Tony Bennett to announce immediate retirement on Friday

Virginia men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett will announce his immediate retirement at a press conference on Friday morning, the school said on Thursday.

The university did not specify why Bennett decided to retire just three weeks before the team’s season opener against Campbell University.
Bennett is the winningest coach in Virginia’’s history, recording 364 victories during his 15 seasons with the Cavaliers.

The program experienced crushing defeats and unprecedented success under his leadership. In 2018, Virginia became a national laughingstock after becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Cavalier rebounded to win their first national championship in 2019.

The unexpected announcement shocked the college basketball world.

“If the news is true, college basketball just lost a man with incredible class, humility, and dignity,” St. John’s coach Rick Pitino wrote on X. “Tony Bennett is an awesome teacher of our game. You will be deeply missed!”

The Cavaliers have not named an interim coach.