A health crisis did not cause Tony Bennett to abruptly quit three weeks before the start of the new season. His government did not force him to resign either.

The longtime Virginia men's basketball coach simply no longer believes he is the best person to lead the Cavaliers.

With tears in his eyes but a smile on his face, Bennett told reporters Friday morning that he was not equipped for the challenges of the modern college basketball environment. The three-time national coach of the year said he was a better fit for the “old way,” before the transfer portal spawned unrestricted free agency and the advent of NIL turned recruiting battles into bidding wars.

“That's probably what stifled me the most and is the hardest thing to say – when I looked at myself and realized that I was no longer the best coach to lead this program in this current environment.” said Bennett. “If you want to do it, you have to be fully committed. Doing it half-heartedly is not fair to the university and these young men. So, you know, that’s what made me resign.”

Bennett's sudden resignation comes just four months after he signed a new contract extension that ties him to Virginia through the 2029-30 season. The 55-year-old had spoken to reporters about his team as recently as last week at the ACC men's basketball tip-off event and gave no indication before Virginia's Nov. 6 season opener against Campbell that he was considering retirement.

Bennett said he “thought about retiring” after Virginia lost to Colorado State in the First Four last March, but after the Cavaliers brought in a promising group of transfers and newcomers, he started thinking about coaching again to inspire. Those feelings came back to Bennett last week as he and his wife vacationed at the Tides Inn on the Rappahannock River and considered what the future would hold.

“That’s when I realized I couldn’t do this,” Bennett said. “It’s not fair to these people and the institution I love so much to know you’re not the right person for the job.”

Bennett is not the first high-profile men's college basketball coach to decide he no longer wants to deal with the stress of NIL negotiations, annual roster exodus and recruiting his own players each fall. The changing landscape of college basketball has accelerated the retirements of Roy Williams, Mike Krzyzewski, Jay Wright and Jim Boeheim.

College basketball will miss Bennett as much as any other Hall of Famer. He won 433 games, six ACC titles and a national championship in his own way, with dignity, sportsmanship and a uniquely methodical style of play that often frustrated television viewers as much as opposing players.

The son of legendary former Wisconsin coach Dick Bennett, Tony etched his own name in college basketball history with his accomplishments as a head coach. He posted back-to-back 26-win seasons at basketball-forlorn Washington State before turning Virginia into a perennial national power.

A Virginia program known for its slow, efficient offense and stout defense won the 2019 national title, surviving a dramatic Elite Eight thriller against Purdue before defeating Auburn and Texas Tech the following week. The national championship came a year after Bennett's team suffered a stunning loss to UMBC in the first round of an NCAA Tournament, becoming the first men's No. 1 seed to lose to a 16th seed.

Bennett endured the devastating setback with typical grace and perspective. He told his heartbroken team, “If you learn to use adversity properly, it can take you to a place you couldn't have gone otherwise.”

As college basketball has changed in recent years, Virginia has fallen somewhat behind as Bennett has tried to adapt. The Cavaliers have not won an NCAA Tournament game since the 2019 national title game and missed the 2022 NCAA Tournament altogether.

Associate head coach Ron Sanchez will take over the Virginia program on an interim basis and will have a chance to show that he is a potential candidate for the job. Sanchez takes over a team that is projected to finish fifth in the ACC despite the departures of last year's stars Reece Beekman and Ryan Dunn.

Bennett hopes Sanchez can find a way to win in the current college basketball climate without sacrificing his program's values.

“I wish it could be me, but I can’t,” Bennett said Friday. “If you know that in your heart, you have to give it away.”