Virginias Tony Bennett suddenly retires right before season in college basketball stunner

University of Virginia basketball coach Tony Bennett is retiring just months after he signed a contract extension in June that would have kept him with the program through the 2029-30 season, the school announced on Thursday. Bennett will hold a press conference on Friday at 11 a.m.to discuss his decision. The announcement by the program did not say why Bennett is planning on retiring nor did it indicate who would take over the men’s basketball program with the season less than a month away from starting.According to NBC Sports, the decision was not health-related.Bennett had signed a contract extension with the school on June 13, but Thursday’s decision now ends his 15-season run with Virginia. The news of his retirement came as quite a surprise, with Bennett having attended the ACC Basketball Tipoff in Charlotte last week. Bennett also expressed excitement in a statement in June about getting to help shape the future of the men’s basketball team at Virginia. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with [athletic director] Carla Williams and [university president] Jim Ryan and to represent the University of Virginia,” Bennett said at the time, per ESPN.

“My staff and I look forward to adapting to the new landscape of college athletics.We will continue to build one of the best basketball programs on and off the court without compromising the values of our university.

Go Hoos!”Bennett, 55, ends his run leading the Cavaliers to a 364-136 record, helping the program win a national championship in 2019 along with two ACC Tournament titles and six ACC regular season championships. Additionally, he led Virginia to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances over 15 seasons at the helm. Bennett arrived in Charlottesville in 2009 to replace Dave Leitao. Prior to Virginia, Bennett had coached at Washington State from 2007-09. ...