Virginia’s Bennett gets raise, extension

Virginia reached agreement Tuesday with coach Tony Bennett on a new seven-year contract with annual compensation of $1.924 million.

The new deal extends through the 2020-21 season and supersedes an extension that he signed with 2012 with a payout of $1.7 million per year.

The Cavaliers won both the ACC regular-season and tournament titles in 2014 for the first time in school history. Virginia received the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and reached its first Sweet 16 since 1995. Bennett was named ACC coach of the year.

“I’m thankful for receiving this new contract,” Bennett said. “I love coaching at the University of Virginia and living in Charlottesville where the community has been wonderful to my family. I feel we are building something special here and this commitment by the University is another great step towards ensuring we continue to compete at a high level.”

In five seasons at Virginia, Bennett has a 106-60 record. He was at Washington State for three years before moving to Charlottesville.

“We are pleased with Coach Bennett’s commitment to the University of Virginia,” Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage said. “Tony believes in the goals of the athletics department and the mission of the University. The vision he had for our program when he accepted the head coaching position is developing according to his plan. It will be exciting to watch the development of our players and the program in the coming years.”

Virginia returns a strong nucleus of players next season and likely will be considered a preseason contender in the ACC and potentially a top-10 team nationally.