Seth Davis of Sports Illustrated and CBS reported on Twitter tonight that the search firm hired by Texas to head up the effort to find a new basketball coach reached out to UVA coach Tony Bennett.
You can add Virginia’s Tony Bennett to the list of people contacted by Texas’ search firm. He probably could have had the job, but said no.
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 31, 2015
Bennett, 45, is 205-97 overall in nine seasons, and in six years at Virginia has compiled a 136-64 record. A two-time national coach of the year, Bennett’s teams have won 30 games each of the past two years, the first back-to-back 30-win campaigns in UVA basketball history.
The Cavs have also gone 36-5 in the ACC over the past two years in winning back-to-back ACC regular-season titles and the 2014 ACC Tournament.
Bennett signed a seven-year contract extension last spring that pays him $1.9 million a year in base salary and runs through the 2020-2021 season.
That contract includes a $1.4 million buyout clause that decreases $200,000 every year he remains on the job in Charlottesville.
Bennett was also a hot property on the coaching carousel after the 2013-2014 season, reportedly rebuffing inquiries from several NBA teams that had contacted him regarding job openings.
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Chris Graham
