Tony Bennett, Virginia's longtime men's basketball coach, is unexpectedly retiring before the start of the season

Longtime Virginia men's basketball coach and 2019 national team coach Tony Bennett is retiring before the start of the season, the school announced Thursday.

Bennett, who has coached the Cavaliers since 2009, will retire effective immediately. He and Virginia will host a news conference Friday morning to discuss the sudden move. The school did not immediately announce an interim coach or succession plan.

According to multiple reports, Bennett is not retiring due to health reasons.

Bennett is responsible for one of the best runs in NCAA Tournament history, just a year after one of the biggest upsets of all time. In 2018, Virginia entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed and became the first top seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in the first round when the Cavaliers lost 74-54 to the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Since Virginia's loss, only one other No. 1 seed (Purdue in 2023) has been eliminated in the first round.

Virginia brought back many key players from that team before the 2018-19 season, including Kyle Guy, De'Andre Hunter and Ty Jerome. The Cavaliers won the ACC regular season title again and this time went 6-0 in the NCAA Tournament.

The Cavaliers defeated Oregon by four points in the Sweet 16 and Purdue by five points in the Elite Eight. Virginia then beat Auburn 63-62 in the Final Four when Guy made three free throws with 0.6 seconds left after being fouled on a potential game-winning 3-pointer.

Two days later, Virginia defeated Texas Tech 85-77 in the national title game.

Bennett came to Virginia before the 2009-2010 season after three years at Washington State. He became a fixture in the ACC in 2014 after a trip to the NCAA Tournament in his first four seasons in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Cavaliers won four ACC regular season titles in six years before winning regular season titles in 2021 and 2023.

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Virginia's style of play under Bennett was particularly effective in the regular season. And it was very distinguishable. Under his leadership, the Cavaliers consistently played at one of the slowest paces in the country and played stingy defense. Virginia ranked 210th in the country in points per game in the season in which it won the national title and gave up the fewest points per game of any team in college basketball at 56.1.

But while Virginia achieved consistent regular-season success during Bennett's tenure, NCAA Tournament success was much more difficult to achieve. The 2019 tournament marks the only time Virginia reached the Final Four during his tenure. Since that title, Virginia is 0-3 in tournament appearances and has failed to advance past the first weekend of the tournament in all but three of its 10 appearances under Bennett. Last season, Virginia lost by 25 to Colorado State in the First Four.

By rule, players on Virginia's roster have 30 days to enter the transfer portal following Bennett's resignation. However, they probably don't have many options. Most teams' rosters are already set as the season is approaching so quickly. Virginia's first game of the 2024-25 season is against Campbell.