By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
Virginia Cavaliers men’s basketball head coach Tony Bennett has admitted that he has had enough with the current landscape of college sports. He cited the transfer portal and NIL deals as a reason behind his decision to retire.
The 55-year-old was the Cavaliers bench boss for 15 years. He said that “he wasn’t best suited for the current landscape of college basketball.”
Bennett is not a fan of these. And he admitted, “(he’s) not great at (them).”
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“I looked at myself and I realized, I’m no longer the best coach to lead this program,” Bennett said with athletic director Carla Williams seated next to him. “If you’re going to do it, you’ve got to be all in. You’ve got to have everything. And if you do it half-hearted(ly), it’s not fair to the university and those young men. That’s what made me step down.”
Bennett is not the only head coach to depart their role because of the changes in college sports. Now, with NIL, college students are wondering, “Where can I get the most money?” College students are now getting deals to drive Lamborginis and have private jets.
“The game and college athletics is not in a healthy spot,” Bennett said. “And there needs to be change. I think I was equipped to do the job here the old way. That’s who I am and that’s how it was. My staff has buoyed me along to get to this point, but there needs to be change.”
As a college basketball head coach, Bennett was 433-169. He also was 16-11 in the Men’s Basketball Tournament and had a 4-3 record in the NIT.
Bennett — who came to Charlottesville, Virginia from Pullman, Washington in 2009 — guided the Cavaliers to the 2019 Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship. The Cavaliers won 85-77 over the Texas Tech Red Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Kyle Guy was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament.
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A trip recently with his wife, Laurel, led to his decision.
“That’s where I kind of came to the realization that I can’t do this,” Bennett said. “It’s not fair to these guys, and to this institution that I love so much, to continue on when you know you’re not the right guy for the job.”
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