Tony Bennett retirement: Virginia AD Carla Williams addresses plan for UVA coaching search

Tony Bennett stunned the college basketball world on Thursday, announcing that he was retiring as the Virginia head coach. The move seemingly came out of nowhere, just a few weeks before the start of the 2024-25 season.

Bennett and UVA Athletics Director Carla Williams held a press conference on Friday to address the decision and discuss the Virginia program moving forward.

After the press conference, Williams confirmed that associate head coach Ron Sanchez will be the interim head coach for this season, before a national search is conducted.

“So Ron Sanchez will be the interim head coach for this season. And we will have a national search for a head coach,” Carla Williams said.

It’s clear that Tony Bennett is a fan of the decision. He spoke highly of Ron Sanchez during his press conference and shared that he believes Sanchez is the right person to lead the Virginia basketball program.

“I’m excited for these players. They’ll have to grow together. They have a very tough schedule coming up. But they have a chance to be good,” Bennett said. “The staff, with Coach Sanchez leading it, and the rest of the staff, have a chance to take this group and do the job. They’re more equipped than I am, and that’s the reality of the situation.

“One of the reasons I stepped away, the staff was the one that, they pulled me along. They would handle the talks with the agents. They would handle things. I realized, if I’m going to do this, I have to be involved in everything. And they made it easy for me. … They’re forward thinking. … I love these coaches. I love this group.”

Ron Sanchez was an assistant coach at Virginia from 2009-18, before taking over as the Charlotte head coach from 2018-2023. His final season at Charlotte he led the 49ers to a 22-14 season, before returning to work under Bennett at Virginia.

Now after one season as the associate head coach for the Cavaliers, he is the interim head coach and will lead the program.

Ron Sanchez also worked under Tony Bennett for three seasons as an assistant at Washington State. He has also been a volunteer assistant at Indiana during his coaching career.

If Virginia has a strong season in 2024-25, perhaps Sanchez will be considered as the head coach moving forward.