NCAA News Wire
Virginia’s Bennett gets raise, extension
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
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.
