GREEN BAY --- UW-Green Bay alum and Phoenix Hall of Fame member Tony Bennett '92 accomplished the greatest feat for any college basketball head coach on Monday night, lifting the NCAA National Championship trophy as the head coach for the University of Virginia, which defeated Texas Tech 85-77 in overtime in Minneapolis at US Bank Stadium at the Final Four. Bennett is the first GB alum to win a National Championship in any sport, claiming the title in his 10th year as head coach of the Cavaliers.
Bennett's Cavaliers captured the first men's basketball National Championship in school history, a year after losing to a No. 16 seed in the First Round. For a full recap of the National Championship game,
click here.
Bennett played for his father, Phoenix Hall of Fame member Dick Bennett, at Green Bay from 1989-92. He graduated from Green Bay in 1992 and finished his career as the Mid-Continent Conference's all-time leader in career points (2,285) and assists (601) and GB's all-time leader in both categories as well. His 49.7 career 3-point field goal percentage is still an NCAA record. Bennett helped the Phoenix to an 87-34 record during his collegiate career, including one NCAA Tournament and two NIT appearances. He was twice named MCC Player of the Year, was the 1992 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award winner (best senior player under six-feet tall) and was the 1992 GTE Academic All-American of the Year. Bennett was the 35th overall selection in the 1992 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets and played with the team for three seasons.
Bennett's No. 25 is retired at Green Bay, one of only two jersey members to be retired by the program, which is accompanied by Jeff Nordgaard's No. 33 that was raised earlier this season. He has been named National Coach of the Year three times in his career and owns an astonishing 254-89 record during his time at Virginia. He has won at least 30 games in four of the last six seasons, and at least 29 games in five of the last six.
Bennett was introduced as the head coach of the Virginia men's basketball program on April 1, 2009, after three seasons at Washington State. Bennett led the Cougars to a 69-33 record, including a 32-22 mark in the Pac-10. Washington State's 69 wins over those three seasons is the most over any three-year period in school history. He led the Cougars to the 2007 and 2008 NCAA Tournaments, the only time WSU has made consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
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