Tony Bennett smiles at the Virginia basketball 2019 National Championship celebration in Charlottesville. Photo courtesy Virginia Athletics Media Relations
Virginia men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett will officially retire on Friday. The school announced the retirement press conference for 11 a.m. on Friday at the John Paul Jones Arena.
Bennett ends his UVA tenure with a 364-136 record and as the program’s all-time winningest coach. He surpassed Terry Holland, who posted 326 victories with the Cavaliers. Counting his time at Washington State, Bennett compiled a 433-169 career record with 12 NCAA Tournament appearances.
Virginia did not release any offical statements Thursday when it announced the Friday press conference. ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips did release an official statement.
“Tony Bennett is, first and foremost, a tremendous person who is also one of the most accomplished coaches in the storied history of ACC Basketball,” Phillips said in a released statement. “He is a fierce competitor, but one who always leads with integrity, class and unwavering values. He has made an indelible impact on countless student-athletes and developed them not only in basketball, but also as young men. He is a legend who we will deeply miss having on the sidelines as well as his daily impact in the league, the sport and college athletics. We are incredibly thankful for all he did in making college basketball better with his steadfast dedication and commitment to the game. We wish Tony, his wife Laurel, and their entire family all the best in this next chapter.”
During Bennett’s tenure, the list of accomplishments are unmatched at Virginia. In addition to winning the most games in program history, he also led Virginia to its first and only National Championship in 2019, two ACC Tournament titles in 2014 and 2018, and 10 total NCAA Tournament bids. The Cavaliers won six ACC Regular Season Championships as well.
Bennett received the ACC Coach of the Year Award four times at Virginia and the Pac-10 Coach of the Year Award once at Washington State. He has been a six-time Regional Coach of the Year and three-time National Coach of the Year.
Under his guidance, Malcolm Brogdon won the 2016 ACC Player of the Year Award, while Brogdon, Darion Atkins, Isaiah Wilkins, De’Andre Hunter, and Reece Beekman each won the ACC Defensive Player of the Year Award. Jerome Meyinsse was honored as the Skip Prosser Award winner as the the ACC’s top student-athlete. Players received first-team All-ACC honors 9 times, second-team All-ACC honors 10 times, and third-team All-ACC honors 9 times in his tenure. Brogdon, Hunter, Mike Scott, Justin Anderson, and Kyle Guy were named All-Americans as well.
Ten players were selected in the NBA Draft too; Scott (Atlanta, 2012), Joe Harris (Cleveland, 2014), Anderson (Dallas, 2015), Brogdon (Milwaukee, 2016), Devon Hall (Oklahoma City, 2018), Hunter (Los Angeles Lakers, 2019), Ty Jerome (Philadelphia, 2019), Guy (New York, 2019), Trey Murphy III (Memphis, 2021), and Ryan Dunn (Phoenix, 2028 make up that list.
Bennett exits the ACC as No. 6 all-time in wins while coaching in the conference behind Mike Krzyzewski (1,129/Duke), Dean Smith (879/UNC), Roy Williams (485/UNC), Gary Williams (461/Maryland), and Leonard Hamilton (443/FSU).
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