Tony Bennett did not mince his words.
As he announced his retirement Friday during a press conference at John Paul Jones Arena, the outgoing Virginia men’s basketball coach cited the rapidly changing landscape of college sports as one of the reasons that he is walking away from coaching.
“The game and college athletics is not in a healthy spot,” Bennett said. “It’s not, and there needs to be change.”
College sports have undergone a seismic transformation in recent years with the introduction of name, image and likeness compensation for student-athletes and the transfer portal.
The NCAA has struggled to keep up with the rapid changes — most of which have been brought on by litigation against the association — and the result has been a year-round recruiting calendar for coaches, the introduction of agents for college players and what adds up to perpetual free agency.
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“The way the recruiting calendar works, you literally jump in [right after the season],” Bennett said. “For two straight months we’re in the transfer portal…. You’re involved in situations and conversations and things that I’m not great at.”
The 55-year-old Bennett said his assistant coaches “buoyed” him through the changes and handled some of the added tasks, such as talking to agents, but he eventually came to realize that coaching in the new college basketball landscape did not suit him.
“That’s probably the thing that has choked me up the most and the hardest thing to say is, when I looked at myself and I realized I’m no longer the best coach to lead this program in this current environment,” Bennett said through tears. “And if you’re going to do it, you’ve got to be all in. You’ve got to have everything. If you do it half-hearted, it’s not fair to the university and those young men.”
Tony Bennett announces his retirement from coaching at John Paul Jones Arena during a press conference on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024.
Bennett’s sentiments echo some other championship-winning coaches that have departed college basketball in recent seasons. Hall of Fame coaches Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), Roy Williams (North Carolina) and Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) have left their respective ACC programs and Jay Wright, who won two national championships at Villanova stepped down after he came to the realization that he was no longer able to give his all to the job.
“We always say to our players, ‘You’re either 100% in or you’re against us,'” Wright said at his retirement press conference in 2022. “…We couldn’t ask the players to give 100% and I’m giving 70%. So I just knew it was the right time.”
Wright’s comments resonated with Bennett.
“I remember … Jay saying he had fought so hard to build his program in his way, and I think he foresaw maybe the changes coming for him, and I think he maybe didn’t want to change on those,” Bennett said. “That’s valuable information. We adjusted, I adjusted some, but you can’t fight against yourself.”
Another coach that began having internal struggles was Williams, who retired from coaching in 2021 after incredibly successful stints at Kansas and North Carolina. Williams said he felt that he would continue coaching as long as his health allowed him to.
“But deep down inside, I knew that the only thing that would speed that up [was] if I did not feel that I was any longer the right man for the job,” Williams said at his retirement press conference in 2021. “I’m not going say the best man because I never thought I was the best at anything. But for 15 years at Kansas, I thought I was the right man. In this time at North Carolina, I thought I was the right man.
“I no longer feel that I am the right man for the job.”
Virginia head coach Tony Bennett, left, shakes hands with North Carolina head coach Roy Williams, right, after a game at John Paul Jones Arena.
The changes to college athletics also have driven coaches away in other sports. Legendary Alabama football coach Nick Saban walked away from coaching last season, citing NIL and the transfer portal.
“I thought we could have a hell of a team next year, and then maybe 70 or 80% of the players you talk to, all they want to know is two things: What assurances do I have that I’m going to play because they’re thinking about transferring, and how much are you going to pay me?” Saban said in an interview with ESPN’s Chris Low earlier this year. “Our program here was always built on how much value can we create for your future and your personal development, academic success in graduating and developing an NFL career on the field.
“So I’m saying to myself, ‘Maybe this doesn’t work anymore, that the goals and aspirations are just different and that it’s all about how much money can I make as a college player?’ I’m not saying that’s bad. I’m not saying it’s wrong, I’m just saying that’s never been what we were all about, and it’s not why we had success through the years.”
What would it take coaches like Bennett, Saban and Wright to stop departing the college coaching ranks? Bennett said it starts with changes to NIL rules and the transfer portal. Bennett is a proponent for players getting compensated but said there needs to be regulations put in place.
“It’s going to be closer to a professional model,” Bennett said of the future of college athletics. “I think it is, where there’s got to be collective bargaining. There has to be a restriction on the salary pool that teams can spend. There has to be transfer regulation restrictions. There has to be some limits on the agent involvement to these young guys.”
The NCAA said in a statement following Bennett’s press conference that it is pursuing changes but will need legislative help.
“The NCAA believes change in college sports is long overdue and is pursuing significant reforms, such as, the expansion of core guaranteed benefits for student-athletes that include health insurance, scholarships, academic counseling, mental health support and career preparation,” the statement said. “The Association is also advancing a landmark [lawsuit] settlement that will allow schools to deliver direct financial benefits to student-athletes.
“However, there are some issues the NCAA cannot address alone, and the Association looks forward to working with Congress to make needed changes in the best interest of all student-athletes and college sports.”
But until those changes are made, college sports may continue losing some of its best coaches as they grow weary from the unregulated environment.
Making those changes will be challenging, according to Virginia athletics director Carla Williams
“it’s really, really complicated and we need state legislative intervention. We need federal intervention,” Williams told reporters on Friday after Bennett’s press conference. “There’s an element of antitrust involved, an element of labor involved, an element of employment involved, and all of those things involve federal law that we in athletics do not control, so there will have to be some legislative intervention to help create some guardrails for this industry.
“When people like Tony Bennett exit men’s basketball, exit our industry, for something that has nothing to do with coaching or teaching or being a role model, then shame on all of us.”
