Major coaching news hits the ACC just weeks before the 2024-2025 season begins

Just 20 days before the Virginia Cavaliers were set to begin their 2024-2025 season, major news was revealed that certainly took the college basketball world by storm.

Multiple reports surfaced that Virginia head coach Tony Bennett was set to retire. The program confirmed it via the above social media post, stating that he'll have an 11 AM press conference on Friday, October 18 to make it official.

The timing of this is very odd, even if you consider that he was reportedly debating retiring last season. Bennett signed an extension following the 2023-2024 season (one that kept him at Virginia until 2030) leading us to believe he'd stick around at least another season.

Well, that isn't the case.

Now, just under three weeks away from the start of the 2024-2025 season, Virginia will be changing guard, as an announcement of who will take over the reigns has not been made. At this point, so close to the start of the season, it's likely that one of Bennett's bench coaches will take over for the immediate future.

Bennett took over as Virginia's head coach in 2009, leading the program to their first (and only) national championship in 2019. He led the Cavaliers to six regular season ACC titles, two ACC tournament titles and ten NCAA Tournament appearances while earning two Naismith Coach of the Year Awards.

While you hope this decision isn't due to health reasons, it's a very sudden and shocking decision made by Tony Bennett. I'm sure we'll all miss watching his Cavalier teams completely slow the pace down of games (which for UNC basketball fans is pure torture!), as their style of play was to wear you down and take you out of the pace you'd like to play at.

This will be a major storyline to follow not only over the next few days but throughout the 2024-2025 season. We'll have to wait and see what the future of Virginia basketball looks like now that Tony Bennett has decided to step away from coaching.