University of Virginia announces sudden retirement of basketball coach Tony Bennett

By Homero De la Fuente, CNN

(CNN) — University of Virginia men’s basketball head coach Tony Bennett is set to announce his sudden retirement on Friday, according to the university.

A three-time national coach of the year, Bennett has posted a 364-136 record with the Cavaliers. He guided the men’s program to their first NCAA national championship in 2019, a year after Virginia was famously upset in the first round of March Madness.

In 2018, UVA was a No. 1 seed and a heavy favorite to beat No. 16 seed University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in the annual NCAA men’s basketball postseason tourney. The Retrievers made history when they beat the Bennett-led Cavaliers, becoming the first No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed in tournament history.

To Bennett’s credit, he orchestrated one of the most remarkable redemption stories in sports history a year later.

UVA returned to the title game the following year again as a No. 1 seed and defeated Texas Tech in overtime to clinch the program’s first title.

During his 15-year tenure as head coach of the Cavaliers, Virginia has won two ACC tournament titles and six ACC regular season championships.

Bennett and Virginia had agreed to a contract extension in the offseason, which would’ve kept him with the program until 2030. The school gave no reason for his sudden retirement.

Bennett will officially announce his retirement at a press conference at John Paul Jones Arena on Friday, October 18 at 11 a.m. ET.

Virginia men’s basketball will open their season against Campbell on November 6.

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