Virginia men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett is retiring effective immediately

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Virginia men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett is retiring effective immediately.

The program said Thursday that Bennett will announce his retirement at a news conference Friday. No reasons were given for Bennett’s abrupt departure less than three weeks before the start of the season.

Bennett, 55, led the Cavaliers to the national title in 2019. In his 15 seasons as the coach in Charlottesville, he made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances. He just signed an extension in June to keep him in the job through at least 2030.

Bennett went 364-136 at Virginia, a tenure that included two ACC Tournament titles and six regular-season conference championships. He was voted national coach of the year three times.