CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. >> Describing himself as “a square peg in a round hole,” a tearful Tony Bennett said Friday he suddenly retired from coaching at Virginia because he wasn’t suited to navigate the current landscape of college basketball.

Bennett — dressed in his signature suit-minus-tie look — told those gathered at his exit news conference that name, image and likeness money and the transfer portal have brought elements to the job that he’s “not great at.”

“I looked at myself and I realized, I’m no longer the best coach to lead this program,” Bennett said with athletic director Carla Williams seated next to him. “If you’re going to do it, you’ve got to be all in. You’ve got to have everything. And if you do it half-hearted, it’s not fair to the university and those young men. That’s what made me step down.”

Bennett famously led Virginia to the 2019 national championship a year after becoming the first team downed by a 16-seed in the NCAA Tournament.

He is the latest — and, at 55 years old — youngest high-profile coach to walk away citing a measure of burnout with the modern realities of the profession. That list includes former Villanova coach Jay Wright, who retired two years ago at 60.

“The game and college athletics is not in a healthy spot,” Bennett said. “And there needs to be change. I think I was equipped to do the job here the old way. That’s who I am and that’s how it was. My staff has buoyed me along to get to this point, but there needs to be change.”

Former assistant Ron Sanchez, who rejoined the program last season, will take over as interim coach. Williams said a national search for Bennett’s replacement will begin shortly, but Bennett is hopeful Sanchez will perform well enough to land the full-time post.

Williams said Bennett told her of his decision on Wednesday morning, though she noted that the two had discussed the possibility at times over the past three years.

“I believe he is equipped to do the job, but as he said to all of you, he has to have his whole heart in it,” Williams said, her cheeks still stained with tears shed during Bennett’s remarks. “He is the embodiment of humility, because he could keep doing this and not have his heart in it, but it takes more courage to say, ‘I’m not the person for it.’”

As for the stunning timing of his retirement, less than three weeks before the team’s Nov. 6 opener against Campbell, Bennett said he thought seriously about stepping away immediately after the past season concluded with a First Four loss to Colorado State in Dayton, Ohio.

The Cavaliers struggled offensively in that game and haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game since the 2019 title matchup.

But, because the current recruiting calendar required him to immediately go to work evaluating potential transfers, Bennett said he never fully took the time to consider his situation.

Bennett’s current players and staff stood toward the back of the room Friday, listening as he spoke.

“I’m happy for him,” said former player Isaiah Wilkins, now an assistant coach with the program. “I see he’s at peace. I think he knows himself well and obviously it’s a family decision.”

With the person who hired Bennett, former Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage, looking on, Bennett talked about his pride in the way he and his staff built the Cavaliers into one of the nation’s most successful programs.

“I’ve been here for 15 years as the head coach, and I thought it would be a little longer, to be honest, but that’s been on loan,” Bennett said. “It wasn’t mine to keep. This position has been on loan, and it’s time for me to give it back.”