Ron Sanchez resigns as Charlotte head coach, re-joins UVA staff, Tony Bennett

Ron Sanchez has resigned as the head coach of Charlotte to rejoin the coaching staff at Virginia. The moves were announced separately by each school Tuesday.

Sanchez was originally on Tony Bennett‘s staff with the Cavaliers for nearly a decade from 2009-2018 before taking the head coaching job for the 49ers. Prior to that, Sanchez had also been on Bennett’s staff at Washington State.

He is returning to take the associate head coach role, which is what he held in his final three seasons at Virginia.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ron and his family back to the University of Virginia,” Bennett said in a statement. “Ron played an integral part in building this program and was a pillar in the community. He is an outstanding recruiter and coach, and really connects with student-athletes. Ron’s last five years as a head coach enhances what he will bring back to our basketball program.”

Sanchez was the head coach at Charlotte for five years and had a 72-78 record. He led the program to three winning seasons during those five years, never finishing higher than fourth in the conference standings.

His best season was the most recent one. The 49ers finished the year 22-14 and won the CBI postseason championship. The 22 wins were the most in over two decades for the program.

“Ron took over a proud but struggling program and carefully rebuilt it into a 22-game winner. He has led with class, dignity and devotion to our young men. His decision to step down from Charlotte was a difficult one for him and everyone associated with our program. We wish him and his family every happiness,” Charlotte athletic director Mike Hill said in a statement. “Our competitive goals are clear. We are driven to regularly contend for American Athletic Conference championships and return to the NCAA Tournament. We have commenced a national search for our next head coach and are excited about the future.”

Charlotte spent the past decade in Conference USA but is moving to the AAC this upcoming school year.

Sanchez played his college basketball at SUNY Oneonta in the mid-1990s before staring his coaching career at the school. He then went to SUNY Delhi for two years and was then a volunteer assistant coach at Indiana.

Dick Bennett, Tony Bennett’s father, hired him as the director of basketball operations for Washington State in 2003. He held that role until Tony Bennett promoted him to assistant coach when he took over for his father in 2006.

“The University of Virginia is truly special to me and my family,” Sanchez said in the press release announcing his return to Charlottesville, Va. “It is the only institution I would vacate my head coaching position for. I’m thankful for the opportunity to return to Grounds with a new-found lens and perspective.