Laurel Bennett is the wife of Virginia Cavaliers Head Coach Tony Bennett. The two are devout Evangelical Christians and bonded over their faith, as described by billygraham.org.
In addition to raising the couple’s two children, Anna and Eli, Bennett is an active philanthropist and volunteer who is heavily involved in church activities and community advocacy. Private and barely present on social media, there are few public photos of Bennett available. However, there is a photo gallery of the Bennett family available on fabwags.com.
Bennett’s husband, Coach Tony Bennett, has led an incredibly successful career as the Head Coach of the Virginia Cavaliers, who are once again moving through March Madness as a top seed. Bennett largely credits his wife for being a pillar of strength. “She’s the brains behind our whole operation,” said Coach Bennett. “She loves the Lord in a powerful way,” billygraham.org reports.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Bennetts Met When Laurel Was Working As a Youth Minister in North Carolina
Laurel Bennett, formerly Laurel Purcell, now age 44, was born at home in Baton Route, Louisiana in 1974. She moves to Charlotte after graduating from Louisiana State University and behan working as a youth minister in Chapel Hill.
Tony Bennett was playing for the Charlotte Hornets when he visited one of Billy Graham’s Evangelical Ministries in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The Daily Press details the early lives of the Bennett family as folllows.
Introduced by their pastor in Charlotte, David Chadwick, the Bennetts were newlyweds when they ventured to New Zealand. But coaching was not part of the plan. Tony was playing, while Laurel served as a youth pastor.
“I signed on when he said he would never be a coach,” Laurel Bennett says. “He said, ‘I’ve seen that life and what it does to my dad. It’s crazy.’ I said, ‘Good, because that doesn’t seem like a real good idea to me, either.’ ”
But McKay and others were convinced Bennett was made for coaching, and they beamed in 1999 as he returned from New Zealand and joined his dad’s staff at the University of Wisconsin. In their first season coaching together, father and son helped the Badgers, a program with minimal basketball heritage, reach the 2000 Final Four.
Tony Bennett was hooked. So was Laurel. Coaching was their calling.
2. Bennett Limits Her Social Media & Strongly Protects The Privacy of Her Two Children
Getty ImagesCoach Tony Bennett
Coach Tony Bennett reportedly earns $441,000 as an annual salary, but he took home a number of bonuses after the 2018 season, per Streaking the Lawn:
- $50,000 for being named the ACC coach of the year
- $100,000 for winning the ACC tournament
- $50,000 for reaching the NCAA tournament
- $75,000 for finishing in the top 10 of the national poll
- $100,000 for being named national coach of the year
The UVA publication reports that in addition to his base salary and his bonuses, Bennett earned a “supplemental compensation” salary of $1.87 million from sponsors and donors. That means his salary in total for 2018 was $2.69 million.
Laurel Bennett is a homemaker. Via her husbands job, she’s able to focus her life on raising her children, taking care of her family, and raising Anna and Eli in a safe environment with its roots in the Evangelical church.
Extremely proud of her husband, Bennett often does attend games. She usually finds a seat to observe the game from a seat somewhat set back in the crowd.
3. The Bennetts Are an Evangelical Christian Family
Getty ImagesCoach Tony Bennett
Both Tony and Laurel credit each other and their strong faith in God for their success in Tony’s career and in raising their wonderful children, as told to BillyGraham.org:
“She’s the brains behind our whole operation…She loves the Lord in a powerful way,” Bennett said of his wife. In response, Laurel said her husband is a “fun dad” and a thoughtful husband, and that she has a box full of notes he’s written to her over the years. She said, “He writes specific things that he says he appreciates about me as a wife, as a mom, as a Christian. He takes time to notice the little things, and he’s not vague. He’s always good about making me feel loved.”
Bennett has described his coaching job as a gift from “God.”
4. Bennett Has Been Known as The Cavaliers’ First Lady Since Couch Bennett’s Arrival in 2009
The Cavaliers’ First Lady has a pragmatic view of her husband’s work, described as follows: “This is what I do. I’ll give it my best and I’ll live with it. But the other side of that coin is who I am, which is more important than what I do. And I am a child of God, and my values come from something other than my job.'”
5. Laurel and Tony Bennett Followed a Providential Path to UVA
Getty ImagesCoach Tony Bennett cuts the net ever beating Duke.
As previously mentioned, Laurel and Tony met while Laurel was working as a youth minister. Tony would have become a pastor, if he had not found his calling as a coach. However, the Bennetts’ faith did not waver once Tony was able to secure a coaching position at UVA; it strengthened it. Now, several members of the Cavaliers attend church with the Bennetts to renew and reinforce their own faith.
Some poke fun at the Christian members of the Cavaliers, including Coach and Mrs. Bennett, referring to them as “the God Squad,” applying the pillars of faith to the game of basketball.
Perhaps Bennett described his personal philosophy best here as to how religion equates to basketball:
Bennett has taken the windfall from last year in stride. Bennett’s prayers, Alsager said, focus not on his success but on the well-being of his wife, his two young children and his players.
“When you have a relationship with Lord,” Bennett said, “there’s a peace and perspective you have. The world didn’t give it, and the world can’t take it away. Your relationship with the Lord and with your friends, that’s what matters.”
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Laurel Bennett, Tony’s Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know