The way it played out, Sanchez, who followed Bennett to Virginia when Bennett was hired away from Washington State in 2009, and was at his side for two stretches, around a five-year stint when he left to serve as the head coach at Charlotte, got the chance to audition on the job for the past five months.

Virginia will not retain interim basketball coach Ron Sanchez, who took over three weeks before the season began following Tony Bennett’s surprising retirement.

The Virginia men's basketball program has launched a national coaching search following its first losing season since 2009-10.