INSTANT REACTION: Tony Bennett is retiring IMMEDIATELY from Virginia | Field of 68

[@cathleanjohnson675]

I think losing in the first round of the NCAA tourney the last few years since the Championship didn't help matters as far as his decision to bail and the NIL but he is financially set for life and at 55 why keep putting up with kids now only doing a year or two at most, still handsome as ever he will be missed, he had become the face of UVA basketball for the past decade and a half, God Speed Coach Bennett.

[@dantefazzina9037]

Tony Bennett did UVA a solid! He made the program relevant and won a National Championship! I wish him and his family the best!

[@MattZ653]

The timing of this retirement is shocking. Definitely puts Virginia in a very precarious position, considering everything going on with NIL, the transfer portal, and other things since coaching is a 24/7/365 job.

[@meattooth1303]

i am 55. if i had his bank, i too would retire too. pre-covid, i loved my job/career but now, just trying to ride it out. with 2 high school kids, it will be at least 10 more years before i can think about it. plus medicare and social security will kick in.

[@mattmcphail6718]

Hard to criticize his decision….and also hard to defend the timing. Feel bad for those kids.

[@PatOD75]

Having to recruit a whole new team every year has to be frustrating and exhausting, and just not knowing who on your team you might lose at the end of a season to the portal, whether it's just a couple players or 6 or more players. The whole system how it's set up is just not sustainable. They are going to have to move to a contracts based system if they don't want to keep losing good coaches, because tge coaches whole thing is about trying to build a culture and chemistry and continuity with the players to field a competitive and experienced team, and this system is making it impossible to do that.

[@VegasSportsGaming]

Translation I can’t get transfers in The University of Virginia because of the academic standards. Virginia also doesn’t have the NIL donors and money to compete with the big boys . Teams like Virginia are one of many that will fall by the wayside if you don’t have NIL money. It’s a new era and it’s not going back.

[@wta1981]

They actually have better than average NIL money. Yes, getting transfers into UVa is a lot harder than a lot of other schools. The gig has changed big time. I wish I could retire at 55 lol

[@michaelspecks7053]

Spent a long time atMMM

[@duncansbuddy]

This new age of having the NIL/transfer portal has taken away so much from college basketball and what college athletics use to stand for. Makes no sense..

[@daa_97]

College sports has always been about money it’s only a problem now that players are getting a cut

[@duncansbuddy]

@@daa_97 The problem isn't the money. It's having no consequences of jumping ship to other schools.

[@michaelkepesky5635]

i wonder how many phone calls UVA players are gonna be getting 2nite????

[@NathanFleming-j1q]

I know players are allowed to transfer due to a coaching change but are they allowed to transfer this close to season without penalties?

[@BrandonGavin_EDC]

@@NathanFleming-j1qyup they get a special 30 day window to go wherever they want.

[@Lawrence-k4d]

College coaches don't want to coach professional athletes. Does any player with Nil go to class? Are they still students that have to maintain eligibility? When NCAA starts keeping players from the NFL is when regulation will happen.

[@Jethwi2003]

I’m sorry I can’t feel bad for millionaires, when they had the freedom to move and go where and when they wanted for better opportunities, but now they don’t like when the players have the same opportunity. Change is always inevitable.

[@richardhess2217]

And how many times did his team CHOKE?

[@tunafish2521]

It has to be hard attracting players to come to play at your school when your style of play is so slow and boring.

[@EnjoyChristAsKing]

Dude is a HOF’er. Outside of Duke is the best team in the ACC. The style of play isn’t the issue - it’s that coaches are exhausted from having a free agency with zero rules.

[@tunafish2521]

@@EnjoyChristAsKing I’ll give you that he is a good coach but far from a hall of famer. Style of play is an issue in 2024. You have to be able to attract players to play for you. Not many good players want to come in to a program that puts up ~60 points a game.

[@huntersquires7107]

**OR** It could be an easy decision to come play for a coach that knows how to coach basketball and develop you into a great player. Look at the guys resume. You could argue that he's not a HOFer due to only coaching 18 years and not 40 to 50 like the other HOFers, but if he would have coached until he was 75 he would be around 8 to 900 wins. He maintained around a 75 % winning average in his career against big competition and won 8 conference championships (6 regular season, 2 tournament) and a Natty.

[@brenttuttle7268]

We're losing another great coach because of the NIL/transfer portal nonsense.......damn shame. The list is growing Jay Wright Roy Williams Coach K Nick Saban Tony Bennett COLLEGE ATHLETICS IS DYING THE SLOW DEATH OF SUICIDE

[@BrandonGavin_EDC]

It sucks, it’s basically minor league ball now. Pretty soon we will have NBA assistants running every program.

[@duncansbuddy]

Perfectly stated...

[@kinglord7707]

When they losing money they bounced or it could be something else

[@Blake10ysf]

Williams , K and Saban were almost 80 lol

[@joelspaulding5964]

At least 3 of those had zero to do with NIL or the portal.

[@kinglord7707]

Tony Bennett cant battle with recruiting and NIL and transferring

[@theexclusiveedition]

This is pissing me off. Somebody’s going to have to stand up to the ncaa. How can conferences maintain cache if the faces of their programs are falling off like flies. It’s time for a meeting NOW

[@randallmadison9910]

Seens like decent man. Still, he was fine with his salary being bloated as a coach of a collegiate, amateur team. Then when players get their cut from this collegiate, amateur game, he is disheartened by the state of collegiate, amateur basketball. By definition, this is hypocrisy.

[@MDK384]

can't criticize a guy for bailing on his team two weeks before the season? spare me

[@drmanhattan8416]

Goodman must be good buddies with him cuz he would've blasted alot of other coaches are players for the timing of the move. This has messed up some opportunities for some players who may have went here instead of another place where the chances of making a deep run may have been better. Now they should be happy with a coach who has to try and hit the ground running in a top flight conference. Doesn't make him the worse guy on the planet if you criticize his timing for non-health reasons. It just doesn't