UVA's Tony Bennett retiring due to changing landscape

[AppfaninCAALand]

Any one have thoughts?

UVA mens basketball coach Tony Bennett announced he was retiring effective immediately and cited the changing landscape of college sports (NIL, transfers) as being something he could no longer deal with. He was a very successful coach and I suspect his voice on the subject could carry a bit of weight.

He probably should have done it at the end of the season instead of 3 weeks before its start. That makes me wondered if he was planning to stick it out, but something happened behind the scene that made he just say "nope, I'm done now".

[BambooRdApp]

Good for him if not happy. Used to hate UVa back in the Sampson, Ivaronie (sp?) days...Coach Bennett made them tolerable due the guy he seems to be.
With that said, watching that offense was like watching paint dry

[WVAPPeer]

Great coach as he built his team from the ground up with his defensive and offensive philosophies. Just can't do that starting over each year.
Really sorry he has retired but we have lost some real top rung coaches over the last couple of years

[scatman77]

Maybe with some of these well-known coaches with some clout behind their name and reputation start doing this the powers that be will wake up and try to fix the portal and NIL. It'll be like closing Pandora's box but at least they should try. The current model is one giant cluster.

[canes_mj]

I like him a lot. Have liked him since he was a player with the original Hornets. He's one of the good ones, a very morally upright guy. Him retiring is a loss for the sport. Having said that, it doesn't change the fact what the NCAA has been doing is not legal; it ultimately doesn't matter how coaches or fans feel about it. The lamenting about the good old days and how sports are being ruined is smoke and mirrors distracting people from the only issue that matters which is that the NCAA model wasn't legal; courts have consistently ruled against the NCAA model every time a case has come up. Amateurism isn't a legal concept. Every industry changes, and changes within college sports are just like change with other industries in that people involved can either adapt to the changes or leave the profession.

[Stonewall]

He’s not alone as it pertains to the state of college athletics. I’ve had conversations with active and recently retired coaches who voiced similar sentiments.

[appfanz]

Supposedly the same reason Saban retired.

[MrCraig]

Supposedly the same reason Saban retired.

I can’t find the interview right now, but Saban said he retired because he felt like he was too old to adapt to the changing landscape, not that it was bad.

[WVAPPeer]

I heard him, Saban, interviewed several times. He never said the exact words but he did make comments such as, "I was tired of parents and reps asking me how much $$ were they getting the next season "

[kornegaylw]

NIL is here to stay but the way it's distributed is not. We are in the wild times of paying college players and everyone knows it.

Eventually a system of commitment & compensation will be developed and implemented and coaches like Saban and Bennet will thrive again.

I'm sure many of you will disagree but I was right about NIL and I'm confident I'm right about this.

[KentHogan]

We will see more coaches leaving college sports, the game has changed forever in a horrible way and more coaches are becoming disenchanted.

No matter how the players are paid, paying them has made it all about the money for most of the kids.

I know I’m a hard ass on this subject, but the only form of NIL I will support is the player signing their own deals, no collectives etc.

The revenue sharing idea will likely lead to the end of college sports that don’t make money. Football and basketball will just be semi pro football, especially with the power conferences.

If players become employees, sooner or later someone will sue, saying they shouldn’t be required to be a student, just a player hired to play.

I really hope I’m wrong.

[BambooRdApp]

For coaches that leave, there will be someone who will readily step up to take that spot.... especially at P5 level...too much money to pass up for a few years anyway..
Will lose some good ones in the process as well.

[beav910]

Supposedly the same reason Saban retired.

I can’t find the interview right now, but Saban said he retired because he felt like he was too old to adapt to the changing landscape, not that it was bad.

Sounds like he thought it was bad according to these quotes but I don't know:
https://yellowhammernews.com/saban-to-c ... athletics/

[Saint3333]

There are winners and losers with every change in the landscape of a business.

Winners in this era are the top athletes, the cutest athletes, and the schools that are willing to pay the most.

But next year it will get worse and will be the death knell of parity.

CFB will go from 85 to 105 scholarships, but the impact will be felt more at other sports where scholarships limits will go up a minimum of 50%, with many doubling. This will cripple mid-major programs on the field performance in sports like baseball, soccer, tennis, track, etc.

https://blog.sportsrecruits.com/2024/08 ... g-journey/

If I were going to push for a split in college athletics for a new division designation these are the exact rules and regulations I would install.

One can argue the power schools are going to be able to give more athletes opportunities, which is a good counter argument.

From an economic and free business perspective it's difficult to argue against. As a fan of App State first and only it's difficult to swallow however.

[Mjohn1988]

NIL is here to stay but the way it's distributed is not. We are in the wild times of paying college players and everyone knows it.

Eventually a system of commitment & compensation will be developed and implemented and coaches like Saban and Bennet will thrive again.

I'm sure many of you will disagree but I was right about NIL and I'm confident I'm right about this.

I think we agree that as it stands right now the majority of NIL money is really just pay to play and nothing to do with players making real NIL deals. If there is a way to, for a lack of a better term, make NIL “real” that would solve most of the problems. Very, very few players would be able to sign a “real” NIL deal. So are you thinking we can fix NIL or is direct pay with contracts coming?

[kornegaylw]

NIL is here to stay but the way it's distributed is not. We are in the wild times of paying college players and everyone knows it.

Eventually a system of commitment & compensation will be developed and implemented and coaches like Saban and Bennet will thrive again.

I'm sure many of you will disagree but I was right about NIL and I'm confident I'm right about this.

I think we agree that as it stands right now the majority of NIL money is really just pay to play and nothing to do with players making real NIL deals. If there is a way to, for a lack of a better term, make NIL “real” that would solve most of the problems. Very, very few players would be able to sign a “real” NIL deal. So are you thinking we can fix NIL or is direct pay with contracts coming?

I agree that the majority of college athletes could not market their NIL for substantial monetary gain. The ones that can should.

My feeling is that donors across the board are going to grow tired of paying money to 18-22 year olds without gaurantees. I believe there will always be grassroot donating of <$500 as well as sponsorship deals and rich dudes donating big bucks...but fund rasing from alumni/fans who make equal or less than what these "kids" are making in a direct pay to play method won't last...Honestly I'm surprised it still happening...if we knew how much each player was making I don't think the grass roots donations would continue. "Tommy Football is making more than me?...Yeah thats some BS...Give hime some of that Dr. Pepper money...I've got bills to pay"

Regarding how the system will work...My theory is that teams like Army, Navy & Air Force will actually become very competitive. They do not allow NIL. Players grow & develop in the system like CFB used to be. They play as a team not mercenaries. Clemson is this way. If you remember at the begining of this year Dabo was feeling the heat and it all stemmed from not taking transfer. He said he wanted to pay the guys he had rather than go get unknown quantities and pay them....Look at Clemson, Army & Navy today, 19-1 cumulative record....I beleieve that schools will have players enter into a 2 year contract as freshman, payment will be comensurate of their contribution which will be outlined in a contract. After year 2 they can re-up or hit the portal.