ACC commissioner Jim Phillips issues statement on Tony Bennett retirement

On Thursday, college basketball fans were stunned when reports surfaced that Virginia men’s basketball head coach Tony Bennett plans to retire. Only hours after the news broke, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips released a statement on Bennett’s decision.

“Tony Bennett is, first and foremost, a tremendous person who is also one of the most accomplished coaches in the storied history of ACC Basketball,” Phillips said. “He is a fierce competitor, but one who always leads with integrity, class and unwavering values. He has made an indelible impact on countless student-athletes and developed them not only in basketball, but also as young men.

“He is a legend who we will deeply miss having on the sidelines as well as his daily impact in the league, the sport and college athletics. We are incredibly thankful for all he did in making college basketball better with his steadfast dedication and commitment to the game. We wish Tony, his wife Laurel, and their entire family all the best in this next chapter.”

At only 55 years old, Bennett’s retirement came as a shock to the college basketball community. After all, Virginia tips off its season opener against Campbell in only 20 days. Further, Bennett didn’t mention his retirement at the ACC Men’s Basketball Media Days last week.

Bennett has been the head coach at UVA since 2009 and has a 364-136 record in Charlottesville. During that time, the Cavaliers won six ACC regular-season titles and won the 2019 national championship – one year after becoming the first No. 1 seed to ever lose to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Bennett arrived at Virginia from Washington State, where he was the head coach from 2006-09 after three seasons as an assistant. He was also an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 1999-2003. All told, during his time as a head coach at Wazzu and UVA, he amassed a 433-169 record.

Over the course of his career, Bennett received multiple notable honors. He is a two-time Naismith College Coach of the Year, a four-time ACC Coach of the Year and the 2007 Pac-10 Coach of the Year. In addition, he won three Henry Iba Awards as the best college basketball coach in the nation by the United States Basketball Writers Association.

Bennett plans to hold a press conference to officially announce his retirement at 11 a.m. ET on Friday.

On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this report.