The Virginia Cavaliers have officially named former associate head coach Ron Sanchez as their interim coach following the retirement of Tony Bennett this week. Sanchez, who has been with UVA for a total of 11 years, takes over from Bennett after 15 years at the helm.

Sanchez will now face the virtually impossible task of replacing Tony Bennett as head of the UVA men's basketball program.

Who is Ron Sanchez?

Sanchez graduated from the State University of New York's College of Oneonta in 1997, where he played basketball, and was the State University of New York Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 1996.

After graduating, Sanchez was an assistant at his alma mater for a year before becoming the associate head coach at Delhi College. He then moved to Indiana, where he worked as a volunteer assistant for several years, including during the Hoosiers' run to the Final Four in 2002.

He then joined Bennett's staff at Washington State in 2006 and coached alongside the former head coach for three years until both moved to Charlottesville to begin the journey of rebuilding the Virginia program. Sanchez coached at UVA for nine years, including three years in his current role as associate head coach, before being hired by the Charlotte 49ers head coach in 2018.

Sanchez spent five seasons as the 49ers' coach, helping bring the program back from the rubble and posting a 22-14 record in the 2022-23 season, culminating in winning the CBI championship. But after his fifth season in North Carolina, he returned to Virginia in 2023 and took on the role of associate head coach.

Now he is promoted to interim head coach for the 2024-25 season, where he will have the opportunity to prove himself and take on the official role at the end of the year.

Notably, UVA athletic director Carla Williams confirmed that Virginia will conduct a national search to determine who its next full-time head coach will be.

Stay tuned to Streaking the Lawn for more information on Tony Bennett's retirement and move to Sanchez.