NCAA basketball: Top 25 highest-paid college basketball coaches for 2020

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18. Tony Bennett, Virginia

Salary: $3,307,500 | Buyout: $18,613,125

Tony Bennett made his rounds as a player for several years, suiting up for the Charlotte Hornets and playing professionally in New Zealand and Australia for five years after his collegiate career. After a year hiatus, however, he got into coaching, first in New Zealand for a year before heading back to the U.S. and college basketball where he was an assistant at Wisconsin and Washington State.

Bennett’s first head coaching gig was at Washington State from 2006-09 and he had a bit of success with the Cougars. He immediately had Wazzu at the top of their game, leading them to a 26-8 season and second place int he Pac-10, following that up with a 26-9 season the following year and going to the NCAA Tournament in both seasons. Though he went 17-16 in his final year with the Cougars, he took the job across the country with the Virginia Cavaliers.

Virginia had seen much better days when Bennett arrived but the head coach has led them back to their former glory, if not beyond that. While they were just 31-31 over his first two seasons in Charlottesville, Bennett has led the Wahoos to at least 22 wins in every season since and has made the NCAA Tournament in all but one season.

Of course, Bennett and his vaunted pack-line defense were criticized often as not being successful in the NCAA Tournament. That culminated in 2018 when they became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed. However, Bennett and Virginia got retribution as they won the National Championship the following season.

For what he’s done for the Virginia program, title included, Bennett only being at No. 18 is a bargain for the Cavaliers.