Dick Vitale speculates why former Virginia coach Tony Bennett unexpectedly stepped down from his position
Tony Bennett shocked the college basketball world by calling time on his coaching career. The timing couldn't have been worse for the Cavaliers, with Bennett's retirement coming just weeks before the start of the 2024-25 season.
Bennett's shocking retirement drew opinions from across the college basketball fraternity, who wondered why he would take such a massive step. Among those was renowned college basketball analyst Dick Vitale, who shared his thoughts on X.
"I firmly believe college hoops lost another super leader of young ppl in Tony Bennett due the chaos caused by the transfer portal & the NIL . Just my opinion !" Vitale wrote.
Tony Bennett details the real reason why he retired
In his press conference on Friday, Bennett shared his reason for stepping down, hinting at the massive change in college basketball being a factor in his decision.
"The hardest thing to say is when I looked at myself and I realized I'm no longer the best coach to lead this program in this current environment," said Bennett.
"If you're going to do it, you got to be all in. You got to have everything, and if you do it half-hearted, it's not fair to the university and those young men. So, you know, in looking at it, that's what made me step down."
Tony Bennett joined the Cavaliers in 2009 after a successful three-year stint at the Washington State Cougars, during which he was named the 2007 National Coach of the Year and Naismith College Coach of the Year. He would go on to become one of the most successful coaches in Cavaliers history, leading them to their first and only national championship victory in 2019.
Bennett also led the Cavaliers to six ACC regular season titles and two ACC tournament victories, earning several individual accolades for his efforts. He was named the National Coach of the Year two more times in 2015 and 2018, and also won another Naismith College Coach of the Year in 2018.
Bennett's sudden retirement prompted the Cavaliers to promote associate head coach Ron Sanchez to Interim Head Coach for the 2024-25 season.