Virginia Announces Contract Extension For Tony Bennett, Brian O’Connor

Virginia Cavaliers Brian O’Connor (left) and Tony Bennett each received contract extensions from Virginia.

When fans look around the college athletics landscape, it’s possible to find highly respected and highly successful coaches in many locations. In some cases, those coaches may also be the all-time winningest coach in school history. In a few cases, those coaches may have even won a National Championship. At Virginia, Tony Bennett and Brian O’Connor check all those boxes.

It’s not surprising that both received contract extensions, which the University of Virginia Department of Athletics announced on Thursday. While the officially written documents don’t say so, both coaches essentially have the latitude to stay at UVA for as long as they wish on de facto lifetime contracts. Even so, locking in extensions for both is certainly something that Director of Athletics Carla Williams sounded pleased to announce in the news releases with use of words like honor, fortunate, and championships.

“Tony Bennett is foundational to our efforts to compete for championships in this new model of college athletics,” Williams said in this news release. “He embodies everything important to the University of Virginia and Virginia Athletics. It’s an honor to work with him and we’re thrilled about the future of men’s basketball under his leadership.”

“We are incredibly fortunate to have Brian O’Connor leading our program,” Williams said in this news release. “He has established a championship program, in every sense and we’re looking forward to continuing that legacy for many years to come in Charlottesville.

The announcement indicated that Bennett extended his contract through April 30, 2030. There is an automatic one-year rollover provision where if Bennett is the Virginia head coach on April 30, 2026, then that adds another year to the full deal through April, 30 2031.

Bennett, of course, is the schools all-time winningest men’s basketball coach, a record he set during the 2022-2023 season by surpassing Terry Holland. He now has a 364-136 record and UVA has won 23 or more games in 10 of his 16 seasons at the helm. The Hoos captured the 2019 National Championships and have won two ACC Tournament titles (2014 and 2018) and six ACC Regular Season Championships (2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2023) as well.

For Bennett, the newest extension mostly follows the pattern of his previously announced contract signings.

In 2009, Virginia hired Bennett to take over the program after a stint at Washington State. That initial deal covered 5 years and Bennett signed his first extension in 2012 with 2 years remaining on the first contract. That extension covered 7 years, but was then reworked in 2014 after winning his first ACC Tournament title for 7 more years through the 2020-2021 season.

Bennett’s next announced extension came in 2019 with 2 years remaining on his contract. He signed what became a 7-year extension through the 2025-2026 season (it had a rollover clause as well). The latest extension announced Thursday came with 2 years remaining on that deal and can extend him through 7 years again.

“I love UVA and it has always been a special place for me and my family,” Bennett said in the news release. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with Carla Williams and Jim Ryan and to represent the University of Virginia. My staff and I look forward to adapting to the new landscape of college athletics. We will continue to build one of the best basketball programs on and off the court without compromising the values of our university. Go Hoos!”

For O’Connor, the new extension carries his deal through the 2031 season. His previous contract, that was announced in June of 2021, had extended him through the 2027 season so this one comes with 3 years remaining on that contract.

The news of this contract extension comes during the latest trip to the College World Series in Omaha. The 2024 team earned its way there with a Super Regional win against Kansas State, which pushed the program into its 7th CWS appearance under O’Connor. That ties Florida State coach Mike Martin and UNC coach Mike Fox for the most appearances in Omaha in ACC history.

O’Connor owns an 885-368-2 record before the start of the CWS on Friday. He has led UVA to 18 postseason appearances, including 14 straight from 2004-2017. He has the highest winning percentage (.704) of any active college coach with a minimum of 10 years experience. Virginia has more ACC wins since 2010 than any other team in the league.

“I’m excited every single day I come to Disharoon Park and look forward to the opportunity to sustain this championship college baseball program,” O’Connor said in the news releas. “The success we’ve had in our time at Virginia is a testament to the university’s commitment, the elite talent on the field, the loyalty of our baseball staff, and the dedication of all those who support this program.”

Neither announcement indicated anything about financial terms for the new contracts. It has been reported that both Bennett and O’Connor turned down raises on previous deals in order to increase the compensation of their assistant coaches.

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  1. Along with our coaches in lacrosse, tennis, swimming, and various other sports, they are treasures at UVA

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