Drone view of Wisconsin Badgers Kohl Center in Madison
Get a bird’s eye view of the home of theWisconsin Badgers basketball team, the Kohl Center in Madison.
(This story was updated to add new information and photos.)
Tony Bennett, one of the top high school basketball players ever to come out of Wisconsin and a former star at UW-Green Bay, is retiring as the head coach at the University of Virginia.
The surprising news, first reported by the Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman, comes just on the cusp of the college basketball season. The Cavaliers open the season against Campbell on Nov. 6.
Virginia announced the move and stated that the 55-year-old Bennett would hold a news conference on Friday. Bennett signed a one-year contract extension at Virginia in June.
Bennett led Virginia to the 2019 NCAA championship, a year after the Cavaliers were the first No. 1 seed to lose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Bennett played at Stevens Point Area Senior High School and Green Bay Preble High School from 1985-88, scoring 1,340 points. He was named Mr. Basketball as a senior.
In 2005, the Journal Sentinel conducted a survey to name the best players in Wisconsin history. Bennett was named to the first team along with Kohler’s Joe Wolf, Milwaukee Lincoln’s Fred Brown, Racine Park and Racine St. Catherine’s Jim Chones, and Milwaukee Notre Dame’s Don Kojis.
Bennett played for his father, Dick, at UW-Green Bay, from 1989-92. Together, they made two National Invitation Tournaments and an NCAA Tournament.
Tony Bennett finished as the Mid-Continent Conference’s all-time leader in points (2,285) and assists (601). The 6-foot guard shot 49.7% on three-pointers at UW-Green Bay to set an NCAA record.
Bennett’s No. 25 is retired at UWGB.
Bennett was drafted in the second round at No. 35 in the 1992 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets. He played in 152 games over three seasons before a foot injury ended his NBA career.
Bennett started his coaching career in Australia, then came back to join his father’s staff at UW. Tony was a student manager for Dick when the Badgers reached the Final Four in 2000.
Dick Bennett also stepped down abruptly when he left UW after three games into the 2000-01 season. Brad Soderberg, now an assistant to Tony at Virginia, took over as interim coach.
Tony Bennett stuck around as an assistant to new UW coach Bo Ryan until 2003. Dick Bennett came out of retirement to coach Washington State and Tony joined him as an assistant.
Tony then became coach when Dick retired again in 2006.
Tony left for Virginia in 2009 and became one of the top coaches in the country, going 364-136 with the Cavaliers.
