Retiring Virginia coach laments changes in the college game

Tony Bennett delivered a tough quote about his retirement from coaching.

News broke on Thursday that Bennett would be retiring despite his Virginia Cavaliers being set to play their first game of the season on Nov. 6. Bennett had grown disillusioned with the college basketball landscape in the time of NIL deals and the transfer portal. He had been giving some hints that retirement was on the table for him, too.

On Friday, Bennett officially announced the decision during a news conference. He was pretty blunt when giving his reason for the decision.

“The game and college athletics are not in a healthy spot. I think I was equipped to do the job the old way,” Bennett said.

Bennett has said that some rules need to be put into place regarding subjects like salary caps, transfers and tampering. He also thinks collective bargaining may be coming.

It’s very clear that Bennett felt college basketball had become very similar to running a professional basketball team.

Bennett began his college coaching career in 1988 and it’s no coincidence that some great coaches like him, Mike Krzyzewski and Jay Wright have all walked away in recent years. They don’t like the changes to the sport that have effectively moved it away from amateur to nearly professional sports.