By Jerry Ratcliffe

Photo by Nell Redmond/ACC

Wahoo Nation and the college basketball world were shocked late Thursday afternoon when it was announced that Virginia basketball coach Tony Bennett was resigning, effective immediately, 22 days before the Cavaliers' season opener.

Bennett, 55, will hold a news conference at 11 a.m. Friday to explain his decision.

On the one hand I'm surprised that Bennett is resigning, on the other hand I'm not. There were plenty of red flags in May when a handful of us “fringe media” learned that Bennett hadn't signed a new contract, and even after he later signed a new contract, it gave him an easy way out if he wanted to resign.

It was abundantly clear that Bennett was fed up with the way college athletics was trending with NIL and transfer problems driving some of the best coaches in the country into retirement: Jay Wright, Nick Saban, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, Roy Williams.

We're told Bennett's decision is not health-related, which is good news, but likely after much consideration as to how much more he wanted to deal with losing recruits to NIL deals given his inability to know what his roster would look like like from one season to the next, and the whole nine yards of what's wrong with college athletics.

Just last week at the ACC Basketball Tip Off media days in Charlotte, ESPN's Jeff Borzello asked Bennett why some sportswriters thought Bennett would be like Jay Wright and retire out of nowhere. This is what Bennett said:

“I’ll have to call Jay Wright and see what he says, right? I've always said: If you do that, in this job, whether you agree with it or not, you have to be true to yourself and really look and say, “Who am I?” Can I act the way I want, and can it be successful enough?

“And you can decide whether you want to be there or not. And when you feel like it's time, like Jay, like Coach K, maybe Saban, then it's their decision. And you can sit here and complain and complain. Or you have to make a decision. Either you try to do it your way or you make that decision. So I think Jay Wright probably foresaw where this was going to go… It will be better if there are regulations. Is that still three to five years away? Who knows? But if not – these are decisions every man has to make when the time comes.”

Apparently this is Tony Bennett's time.

After 15 seasons as UVA head coach, the man who put Virginia basketball back on the map is retiring as the Cavaliers' winningest coach: 364 wins, 136 losses, a national championship in 2019, two ACC Tournament titles, six ACC regular-season championships and 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, four-time ACC Coach of the Year. He was national coach of the year three times.

Although he was an excellent coach, he is an even better person who earns the full respect of his colleagues. A national survey of coaches several years ago asked whether they had a son and who he should play for. The overwhelming response came from Tony Bennett, a coach who not only valued solid basketball but put as much energy into developing young men as he did into their development as players.

At Friday's press conference, Bennett is expected to hand over the keys to his program to one of his assistant head coaches, Ron Sanchez or Jason Williford. Speculation is that this is why Sanchez left his head coaching job at Charlotte to return to Bennett's program. Further speculation is that Bennett may have waited so long to step down to ensure he could choose his successor himself rather than opening everything up to a nationwide search, although it could be that he was also wavering on whether to become coach should or not This season I suddenly decided to just walk away, that was enough.

Sanchez, who came to UVA with Bennett from Washington State, gained some head coaching experience with a 72-78 record in Charlotte and had his best season in his final year there with a 22-14 record.

It should be noted that with Bennett's retirement, the transfer portal will automatically open for the next 30 days to Virginia players who may not wish to stay. However, since the semester has already started, it may prevent some from transferring to another program, at least until then at the end of the semester if they are thinking about leaving the semester.

Regarding Jay Wright, the former Villanova coach agreed with Bennett's resignation, saying, “Tony is one of the most talented and toughest coaches we have ever competed against.” We have always respected him and his teams at the highest level. A class guy, inspirational, spiritual and an incredible competitor.”

It's a defeat for college basketball that two of its most respected coaches won't be on the sidelines next month when Virginia and Villanova meet on the court in Baltimore. It's a sad day for the game.

Photo by Jon Golden