“The game and college athletics is not in a healthy spot”: Retiring Tony Bennett drops warning signs for NCAA to work on
Retiring Virginia coach Tony Bennett warned NCAA officials about the 'not-so-healthy state of college athletics' in the NIL era. Bennett, who guided the Cavaliers to their only national championship in 2019, issued a warning on Friday during his retirement press conference in Charlottesville.
In his speech, Bennett said that he would leave the college basketball scene due to issues surrounding recruitment, the transfer portal and the athletes' NIL profits.
"I think it's right for players, student athletes to receive revenue. Please don't mistake me, I do. I think it is, but the game and college athletics is not in a healthy spot. It's not. And there needs to be change and it's not going to go back." (6:14-onwards)
He urged NCAA officials to step in and institutionalize changes closer to the professional model to bring fairness to the whole system. Bennett sought collective bargaining, salary cap restrictions, transfer restrictions and issue player-agent involvement regulations.
Bennett also warned about the effects of these issues on the mental health of student-athletes and wished to help out with the problem but stepped away to avoid messing up his career.
Tony Bennett says he could have announced his retirement after the 2023-24 season
Virginia coach Tony Bennett also revealed in the press conference that he could have announced his retirement after the 2023-24 college basketball season but held back due to the offseason recruitment phase.
Bennett needed to put up a competitive team for the 2024-25 season. He recruited Jalen Warley, Elijah Saunders, Dai Dai Ames and Carter Lang from the transfer portal and four-star shooting guard Christian Bliss and three-star guard Ishan Sharma out of high school.
He thanked his coaching staff, led by Ron Sanchez, who will take his place following his retirement, Jason Williford and Orlando Vandross for helping him during the offseason by talking to the recruits and other matters.
During that period, Bennett signed a contract extension that would keep him in Charlottesville until 2030. However, it was during the school's fall break when he and his wife, Laurel, had a vacation that his retirement thoughts crept in again.
"Just kind of processed about what the future would be. And that's where I kind of came to the realization that I can't do this. 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." (9:11-onwards)
Last season, Tony Bennett guided the Virginia Cavaliers to a 23-11 record and 13-7 in ACC play. They secured an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament and were placed as the 10th seed in the First Four but were eliminated by Colorado State, 67-42.
Bennett had a 71.9% winning percentage in his 18 seasons as coach of Washington State and Virginia. He guided the Cavaliers to six ACC regular season and two ACC tournament titles during his 15-year tenure.
What is the best Tony Bennett moment you remember in his 18-year coaching career? Let us know your insights in the comments section.