“I came here to build a great team. But more importantly, I came here to build a program that will last.”

Fifteen years after his inaugural press conference, there is no doubt that Tony Bennett has built a program that will endure at the University of Virginia.

In 15 seasons, Bennett led the Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team to ten NCAA Tournament appearances, six ACC regular season titles, two ACC Tournament championships, a 364-136 record (72.8% winning percentage) and first-place finish program's national championship.

Bennett established a winning culture in Charlottesville. He also built a program based on ideals that were consistent not only with those of the university, but with everything a college athletics program should stand for. The five pillars of humility, passion, unity, servanthood and gratitude on which he built the program have meaning far beyond the basketball court.

When Bennett arrived at Grounds in 2009, few would have predicted the success he would have over the next 15 years. Consider this an ode to Bennett, the impact he had on countless lives in Virginia, and what he means to the UVA community as a whole.

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Craig Littlepage could have very easily signed Tubby Smith in 2009 and UVA basketball could have maintained its consistent mediocrity for another decade. The 'Hoos could have drifted further and further away from the program's peak in the 1980s under Terry Holland and Ralph Sampson.

Instead, the Virginia government took a chance on a 39-year-old former national coach of the year from Washington state. Tony, the son of Dick Bennett of Wisconsin, came to Charlottesville with a target on his back and countless questions about his attitude.

Could an ACC program win while relying on defense? Would the relatively unknown Bennett be able to attract the recruits needed to even attempt to compete with Duke and North Carolina? Was the athletic department trying too hard and straying from the simple solution of finding a headliner who would bring the program back to the heights of the 80s and early 90s?

They are questions that seem so silly in retrospect. However, these insecurities were incredibly real at this point and it took a lot for Bennett to sort them out.

After Bennett's first two seasons, in which the Cavaliers went 32-32 and missed the NCAA tournament, the 2011-12 season was the turning point. UVA started 14-1, made the tournament, only to fall late in the season due to a disproportionate series of injuries.

The following season was a rebuilding year, as freshmen Justin Anderson and Mike Tobey fit into a roster with Joe Harris and Akil Mitchel, while future stars Malcolm Brogdon and Anthony Gill redshirted. A home loss to Duke was a taste of what was to come.

Then the golden era of Virginia basketball began with the 2013-14 season.

Virginia competed in the preseason in the fall of 2013 for the first time in twelve years. But four non-conference losses — including a 35-point loss to Tennessee — left the Hoos searching for answers on how to capitalize on their loaded roster.

That's when Harris drove his rickety pickup truck to Bennett's house on New Year's Day for a discussion that would change the course of the basketball program. With a renewed focus on handing the keys to the offense to underclassmen guards Brogdon and London Perrantes, that golden era kicked into high gear.

The 'Hoos only lost three more games that season, with Bennett leading the 'Hoos to ACC regular-season and tournament titles, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament a year after missing out, and a trip to for the first time the Sweet Sixteen took place in 19 years.

Virginia has won 82.3% of its games in the five seasons since Harris' visit to Bennett's home on Dec. 31, 2013.

That 2014 season was the starting point for the best six-season stretch in program history. In six years, the 'Hoos won their first national championship, earned four NCAA Tournament Nos. to a No. 16 seed.

Players include Malcolm Brogdon, Kyle Guy, De'Andre Hunter, Joe Harris, Ty Jerome, Anthony Gill, Mamadi Diakite, London Perrantes, Kihei Clark, Mike Scott, Jack Salt, Devon Hall, Isaiah Wilkins, Akil Mitchell, Darion Atkins , Justin Anderson and countless others became stars under Bennett's tutelage as he passed on his wisdom to a generation of Virginia players And fans.

At his core, Bennett is a people shaper and a leader of young people. The role Bennett played in his players' lives is real. He established a program based on the principles of individual development, togetherness, experience and old-fashioned teamwork that belied the one-off, pay-to-play programs he consistently outperformed.

Bennett sent 11 Wahoos to the NBA Draft. Virginia has the sixth-most active NBA players of any college program and the most pros who were not top-25 recruits out of high school. If ever there was a Tony Bennett statistic, this is it.

Bennett made UVA a destination for players seeking professional success. He led his players on the path to generational wealth without sacrificing his principles.

He led the program flawlessly through the aftermath, becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed. There is no other coach on the planet who could take a team so dramatically embarrassed on such a big stage to the mountaintop 12 months later.

Critics will point out that the post-championship season from 2020 to 2024 represents a significant decline in success for Bennett and Virginia. Still, UVA's ACC regular-season rankings still reached second, first, sixth, first and then third, with two regular-season titles over that five-year span. Additionally, the 'Hoos have still won 70% of their games since the national championship.

We'll certainly learn more about Bennett's motivation for retiring in the hours, days, weeks and months to come. But now we can reflect on what he has meant to so many over the last decade and a half.

No Virginia basketball fan will ever forget how Tony Bennett made them feel.

Bennett gave UVA fans something and someone to be proud of. He may have been born in Wisconsin and came to Charlottesville from Washington state. But he became Virginia's.

Wahoo fans have always been able to support Bennett's teams, not just because they were Virginia teams, but because they were Bennett Teams – because they consisted of individuals Bennett deemed worthy of representing his program. His commitment to the character is inspiring. His desire to have an impact beyond what happens on the pitch is touching. His morals contradict the era of college sports in which he thrived.

Bennett was always gracious in defeat, noble in victory, and extremely humble despite everything.

Additionally, the memories that Bennett and his Virginia program have left for UVA fans everywhere are invaluable. From the Saturday afternoons at JPJ rejoicing in the deliciously sickening sound of a shot clock violation, or the 55-50 brick-biters on Tuesday nights at 9 p.m., to the heartbreaking and ultimately euphoric March Madness moments, who inspire Virginia Basketball has been a special experience for 15 years.

Sports bring families, friends and strangers together. They are a reflection of society, typically its humanity. No one represents that better than Bennett – no one represents what sports should be better, especially in this day and age.

Tony Bennett did everything right in college sports. His departure is a slap in the face, not only because of what he means to the UVA basketball product on the court, but also because of the tremendous virtuous importance leaving Virginia's sideline. Now that he's quitting college sports, it's reasonable to be depressed about the future.

But when one grapples with Bennett's retirement, a classic Bennett-ism seems particularly relevant.

When UVA lost to Syracuse in the 2016 Elite Eight, giving it its best chance of returning to the Final Four since 1984, Bennett shared a lonely message with the team and media after the game.

“Weeping may last at night, but joy comes in the morning.”

There was definitely still crying in Charlottesville last night. And it may still take nights. But joy comes in the morning when you think back on the 15 remarkable years of Tony Bennett coaching UVA basketball.

From a grateful fan base eternally in your debt:

Thank you CTB.