Home Public-records requests update: Full picture of Tony Bennett’s staff via contract language
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Public-records requests update: Full picture of Tony Bennett’s staff via contract language

Chris Graham
uva tony bennett staff
Photo: Mike Ingalls/AFP

Orlando Vandross is one of three assistant coaches on the staff of UVA Basketball coach Tony Bennett under contract beyond the 2024 season.

Vandross’s contract expires on April 30, 2026, the same date that the contract of associate head coach Jason Williford expires.

The contract of the other associate head coach on Bennett’s staff, Ron Sanchez, expires on April 30, 2027.

The curious aspect to Sanchez getting the extra year is that the contract of Bennett expires on April 30, 2026, the same date that the contracts of Vandross and Williford expire.

This information is all from public-records requests filed by AFP with the University of Virginia.

We also asked about the contract status of other members of Bennett’s staff in our latest public-records request.

What we learned there is that two had an effective end date of April 30, 2024, so, five weeks ago.

That end date is effective for Brad Soderberg, the director of scouting, and Larry Mangino, the director of player development.

I checked with a sports-information contact at UVA Athletics to learn about the employment status of Soderberg and Mangino, and was told that both are still on staff.

The contracts of full-time assistants Isaiah Wilkins and Johnny Carpenter formally expire on June 30, 2024, per the documents released by UVA pursuant to the records request.

Both will continue to serve in their current roles, per our contact with UVA Athletics.

I also asked UVA for a copy of the contract of Ronnie Wideman, the assistant director of basketball operations/video coordinator.

The public-records response didn’t include a copy of a signed contract for Wideman, just a line item of how much he is paid.

The salaries for each, per their contracts:

  • Tony Bennett: $3.0 million
  • Ron Sanchez: $450,000
  • Jason Williford: $433,328
  • Orlando Vandross: $355,535
  • Ronnie Wideman: $221,537
  • Brad Soderberg: $200,000
  • Isaiah Wilkins: $150,000
  • Johnny Carpenter: $150,000
  • Larry Mangino: $96,181

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham, the king of "fringe media," is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019, and Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 National Championship, and The Worst Wrestling Pay-Per-View Ever, published in 2018. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].