Tony Bennett Calls for NIL Rule Changes amid Retirement; Ron Sanchez Named UVA HC

Tony Bennett shocked the college basketball world when he decided to retire as the head coach of the Virginia men's team, and he held a press conference explaining his thought process on Friday.

"I realized I'm no longer the best coach to lead this program in the current environment," he told reporters. "If you're going to do it, you've got to be all-in. You have to give everything. If you do it half-hearted, it's not fair to the university and those young men.

"I think it's right for student-athletes to receive revenue. Please don't mistake me. I do. But the game and college athletics are not in a healthy spot. There needs to be change. ... It's going to be closer to a professional model."

In addition to calling for changes, Bennett revealed Ron Sanchez will be Virginia's head coach for the 2024-25 campaign.

The season starts in less than a month with a Nov. 6 opener against Campbell, so it comes as no surprise Virginia turned to someone who was already with the program to take over for Bennett.

Sanchez was an assistant coach for the Cavaliers under Bennett from 2009 to 2018 before becoming a head coach of his own from the 2018-19 campaign through the 2022-23 one at Charlotte.

Yet he returned to Virginia after his tenure with Charlotte and was the associate head coach last season.

"I've always wanted this to be taken over by one of my staff members," Bennett told reporters Friday.

This move allows the Cavaliers to maintain some continuity at a time when players within the program could enter the transfer portal because of a change at head coach.

A more prominent transfer portal is just one of the many changes that have happened to college sports in recent years. Players also have the opportunity to make money using their name, image and likeness which has, in turn, led to the rise of collectives across the landscape.

It should be noted Bennett specifically said he believes athletes should have the right to get paid in the current age of college sports. But he still called for change at a time when coaches have more to juggle than ever with recruiting prospects at the high school level and in the transfer portal, convincing their own players to not transfer, navigating NIL, and still coaching on the court.

"Will I miss the game? Do I love the game? Absolutely," Bennett said. "But I don't think I'm equipped in this new way to coach and it's a disservice if you keep doing that. I'm very sure that this is the right step. I wish I could've gone longer. I really do. But it was time."

He is the latest in a line of headline coaches to walk away from men's college basketball in recent years and joins the likes of Jim Boeheim, Jay Wright, Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski.

And he will be remembered as a legend at Virginia after going 364-136 and winning a national championship, six ACC regular-season crowns and two ACC tournament titles during his 15 seasons.