Five months after he retired as the winningest coach in University of Virginia men’s basketball history, Tony Bennett is still being recognized for his contributions to the game.
CollegeInsider.com – a national publication covering college basketball – on Monday announced Bennett as the recipient of the 2025 Gene Bartow Award, an honor spotlighting a current or former coach’s impact on his players, school and community in addition to their on-court achievements.
“Tony Bennett embodies everything that is great about college basketball,” CollegeInsider.com President Joe Dwyer said of Bennett, a three-time national coach of the year. “Beyond all the wins and the accolades, his coaching career will be remembered for the impact he had on so many players and coaches. College basketball needs more people like Tony Bennett.”
New Cavaliers men’s basketball coach Ryan Odom was among those congratulating Bennett for joining a list of previous Bartow Award winners that includes University of Miami’s Jim Larrañaga and University of North Carolina’s Roy Williams.
Standing in Bennett’s former office, with Bennett’s famed pillars still on the wall, including “thankfulness,” Odom expressed his gratitude for the 2019 national champion.
“We’re so thankful for you, for what you have done for our profession,” Odom said, “the representative you’ve been for this amazing institution here, the University of Virginia, the father figure for all the players you’ve coached and mentored.
“You’ve always done it with integrity, you’ve done it with class, and you’ve done it with a competitiveness and a fire that is completely evident to everyone. You wanted to win, but you wanted to win the right way and with the right people.”
Odom said he’s grateful to have Bennett nearby as he begins his UVA career.
“I’m thankful you are right here in Charlottesville still, with your family,” he said. “I’m thankful we get to experience this together. I’m going to need you, without a doubt.”
The new head coach at the University of Virginia, Ryan Odom has a special message for Tony Bennett, the recipient of the 2025 Gene Bartow award. #2025CIAwards @UVAMensHoops @Coachryanodom pic.twitter.com/gteqyojm9o
— College Insider Inc. (@collegeinsider) March 31, 2025
Ryan Odom: Coach Bennett, congratulations. What an amazing honor for one of the best coaches to ever do it.
Obviously, I’m standing here in your office. This is a little bit surreal right now.
But this word says it all. We’re so thankful for you, for what you have done for our profession, the representative that you’ve been for this amazing institution here, the University of Virginia, the father figure for all the players that you’ve coached and mentored, for all the players you’ve coached over the years.
You’ve always done it with integrity, you’ve done it with class, and you’ve done it with a competitiveness and a fire that is completely evident to everyone. You wanted to win, but you wanted to win the right way and with the right people. And you were able to do it for a long, long time.
We’re so thankful for everything you’ve done for our profession, the University and just all of us.
We wish you the best in retirement. I am thankful that you are here, you’re right here in Charlottesville still, with your family. I’m thankful we get to experience this together. I’m going to need you, without a doubt.
God bless, and I’ll see you soon.
Odom and Bennett, of course, aren’t strangers to one another. On March 16, 2018, Odom led 16th-seeded University of Maryland, Baltimore Country, to a historic upset of top-seeded UVA in Charlotte.
