As Retriever Nation erupted with joy for UMBC’s 74-54 upset victory over the University of Virginia—a team thought unbeatable just hours before—millions of new fans learned for the first time what UMBC stands for: University of a Million Brackets Crushed. Or U Must Be Cinderella. Or, as longtime Retriever fans will tell you, U Made the Best Choice.

Friday’s game wasn’t just record-setting, expectation-smashing victory for UMBC. It was also a major first for the NCAA. Never before has a no. 16 seed bested a no. 1 in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, until UMBC, as NPR noted, “beat the stuffing out of Virginia, the best team in the country.” Then again, UMBC is used to achieving what no one knew was possible for such a young public research university.

News of the historic victory immediately flashed on the homepage of the New York Times, which wrote that UMBC “played loose and fearless” and that although Virginia had the nation’s top defense going into the game, UMBC shot 54.2 percent from the floor.

Arguing that “college basketball has never seen a bigger upset than Maryland-Baltimore County 74, Virginia 54,” USA Today wrote, “When most uber-longshots in the NCAA tournament get tight, the Retrievers instead went to the rim with reckless abandon.” As UMBC’s lead over Virginia ballooned, the Cavaliers “played with nervousness while the Retrievers’ confidence grew.“

UMBC star guard Jairus Lyles ‘17, sociology, M.A. ‘18, education, again helped lead his team to victory, finishing with 28 points (82 percent from the floor). “UMBC needed a big bucket or Virginia seemed like it was going to make a run,” USA Today noted, “Lyles would carve through defenders for a tear-drop lay-up or hit a clutch jumper.”

As Bill Raftery said during the TNT broadcast, “The kid’s on fire.”
 For Lyles, whose parents are actually UVA alumni, it’s all about his coaches and fellow players. “I’m playing at a high level. But my teammates put that confidence in me,” he said just after the win. “We believe in each other.”

Today, Retriever fans are watching the game on repeat and catching up on posts from @UMBCAthletics, which also made headlines for its joyful, and often cheeky, tweets throughout the evening, calling out doubters, thanking fans, and lamenting a shortage of cookies in the media room.

At one point, account manager Zach Seidel ‘12, media and communication studies, M.S. ‘15, human-centered computing, reminded viewers:

Second Half about to start, no matter what happens we just want you all to remember……we are conveniently located just outside of Baltimore and have stellar academics

— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) March 17, 2018

Luckily, there’s no risk that new or longstanding Retriever fans will forget the night. By the end of the evening — as the Washington Post shared with the world, “They did it. And it wasn’t even close” — UMBC was the number one topic people were talking about on Twitter…worldwide.

UMBC now advances to play ninth-seeded Kansas State on Sunday, March 18. As Head Coach Ryan Odom told the team just after their historic win, “The key now is you don’t have long to get ready for the next one.” That’s our Retrievers: always showing their grit and reaching together for greatness.

Game updates will be available soon on the Retriever Nation webpage.

— Dinah Winnick

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Header photo: Mitchell Layton
Additional photos: Ian Feldmann, UMBC Retriever Weekly

With tonight’s 74-54 win over the University of Virginia’s (UVA) Cavaliers, UMBC has made basketball history as the first No. 16 seed team to best a No. 1 seed in an NCAA men’s tournament. The victory sends the team into the second round of play versus Kansas State, on Sunday, March 18.

In the first half, the Retrievers stayed consistently within striking distance of the Cavaliers, pushing to a tie at halftime. They came back fresh, with an impressive run of confident three-pointers that took them all the way home.

“UMBC is the talk of the nation right now…what they’re doing to UVA,” noted a commentator with seven minutes left on the clock.

As the final buzzer rang in the news, the crowd went wild. #RetrieverNation fans took to social media to share their delight about this true Cinderella story.

“I love seeing them smile…they’re good kids, I’m so proud of them,” said head coach Ryan Odom, who said they’ll “prepare for the next one, just like we did for this one.”

Going into the game, star guard Jairus Lyles ‘17, sociology, M.A. ‘18, education, told a Virginia NBC affiliate: “We’re definitely a confident group. We know we have to play a tough team, a very tough team especially defensively…we’re still confident that we’re going to go out there and have fun and try to win the game.

We’d like to send a huge Retriever congratulations to our UMBC men’s basketball team for playing their hearts out this season, and for giving us all something wonderful to believe in.

To the entire #RetrieverNation community — thanks for being Retriever Believers! Your passion for UMBC shines through in so many ways. We’ve chronicled some of our favorite social media highlights from this historic run to the NCAAs here. Enjoy, and stay tuned for more about Round 2!

Game photos by Ian Feldmann, the Retriever Weekly

March Madness: U.M.B.C. Makes NCAA History by Beating No. 1 Virginia — New York Times

Virginia becomes first No. 1 seed to lose in the first round of the NCAA tournament in an upset by UMBC — Washington Post

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U Must Be Cinderella
University of Millions of Brackets Crushed

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By now, the image of star guard Jairus Lyles’s incredible game-winning three-pointer at the America East championships is etched upon many of our brains. But, here’s one more for good measure. Swoosh!

At UMBC, we’re busy celebrating the men’s soccer team and their America East Championship win over Hartford. This sets the Retrievers on the road to the NCAA tournament–their fourth tournament bid in five years.

The team is truly a “Fan Favorite” and Retriever Fever is catching across campus, from the dedicated supporters of Lot 17 to faculty and staff. In fact, The Baltimore Sun  reported that at the end of the America East Championship game, “UMBC fans and students stormed the field and celebrated with the players at midfield.”

The men’s soccer team is in Wake Forest today for the first round of the NCAA tournament–along with a bus full of dedicated supporters–in hopes of continuing their winning streak.

Do you have Retriever Fever? Support the team on the road to victory!

UMBC Continues to Earn Top Rankings

UMBC attracts inquisitive minds that thrive on solving problems through collaboration, and the latest U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges Guide reveals why.

Our campus continues to lead the list of universities making “the most promising and innovative changes,” while ranking fifth on the list of campuses with an “unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching”—ahead of Yale, Brown, and Stanford—and being recognized for prioritizing intensive undergraduate research and creative work.

Excellence and Innovation Drive Enrollment

Just as higher education leaders are taking notice, students and families are as well. Applications have increased 50% in the past five years and we are on track to enroll a record 14,000 students.

UMBC’s unusual combination of innovative teaching, leading-edge research, and supportive community empowers and inspires students.

Students celebrate our standard of innovation

A recent student editorial in The Retriever Weekly shared, “What becomes clear about UMBC is that our mission is not about ‘getting there,’ it is about always looking for ways that we can provide the best possible academic experience for incoming freshmen, upperclassmen, faculty, and staff alike. By remaining dedicated to the ‘Up-and-Coming’ standard of innovation, we can continue to make an impact at UMBC, its surrounding communities, and beyond.”

At UMBC, achievements in research and graduate education and a deep commitment to undergraduate teaching aren’t competing interests; they strengthen one another. U.S. News is just one of many rankings to note this distinction.

Read more about UMBC’s recent achievements and rankings.

Join the conversation using #UMBCproud

UMBC’s fiscal year ended on June 30, 2014. As we pause to reflect on accomplishments of last year, we’d like to thank the generous alumni, faculty, staff, family, and friends who make our great work possible. Because of Retriever Believers like you, our students have fantastic opportunities here at UMBC.

Throughout this fiscal year, our alumni – including 456 first-time donors – pulled together to give back $396,415, surpassing the goal for alumni by over $46,000. Parents of our students and alumni donated $143,521.02, and our wonderful faculty and staff contributed $81,399.46. Thanks to every gift, big and small, UMBC received $621,335.48, which is over $55,000 more than the fiscal year for 2013.

Thank you to all those who supported UMBC – we’re excited for the 2015 fiscal year. Go Retrievers!

Give back to UMBC today!

Feeling a little out of shape? Catch yourself panting after climbing up the stairs? Look no further than your alma mater to get you back on track!

The Retriever Athletic Center, otherwise known as the RAC, has everything a retriever needs to get in shape. Our great facilities, such as a cardio balcony, a newly renovated weight room, an indoor track, three full-sized basketball courts, and two pools — an outdoor, 50 meter, Olympic-sized pool, and an indoor 8-lane pool — will leave you drooling. If you find yourself wanting to chase after some tennis balls, there are five available tennis courts fit for any Retriever open until 9:45 p.m. daily. Simply call ahead to reserve a court.

Fellow dawgs can purchase a year-round membership for $250, or opt for 6-month, 3-month, or 1-month memberships at a discounted rate. All memberships include full access to all RAC facilities. Lockers and locker rooms are available to RAC members, as well as passes for those who wish to bring a friend. If you aren’t sure if you’d like to commit to a membership, just drop by and request a tour!

Fill out your membership form today!

There’s really no question that Retrievers are some of the best and brightest in Maryland and around the world. Our alumni are teaching at Harvard and MIT. They’re doctors and researchers at Johns Hopkins and the National Institutes of Health.  They’re leading the charge for non-profits that are changing the world. They’re starting super cool businesses.

And on top of all that, they’re just good, nice people who care about their friends, family and community. But if that’s not enough motivation to start typing now, we’ve put together six more reasons why you should nominate someone you know:

1. You can brag about how you “knew them when.”
2. Seriously, can you think of a better way to tell a friend how awesome you think they are?
3. Good karma. Need we say more?
4. We have a brand-new faculty award, so you can say thanks to that teacher who changed your life.
5. Your fellow alums deserve to be recognized for how awesome they are!
6. You’ll have a great reason to come to the alumni awards to eat tasty snacks and visit with old friends.

Nominate someone today. It’s so worth it.

It’s Valentine’s Day, and love is in the air! For all of us here at UMBC, it’s a great day to tell you, our donors, how much we appreciate you and all that you do for UMBC.

When you give to the University, you make it possible for our students to get the highest quality education. You ensure that our faculty and staff have the resources to do amazing things. You invest in a place that strives for greatness. And though that investment means more to us than words can convey, we still want to say thank you. So we asked a few of our faculty and staff to say thank you to a donor who has made a difference to them:

“We’re so appreciative of the support that Ken Pittman ’80, economics, gives to our university. He is generous with his time through his service on our alumni board, and he and his family regularly contribute to several of our scholarship funds. His willingness to give back helps make UMBC a great place.”

~Stanyell Bruce, Director of Alumni Relations, UMBC

“We are so grateful for Next Century’s support of this software engineering course. Their gift helps students learn about the fundamentals of Software Engineering and the software development lifecycle. The students are getting a great opportunity to work with a ‘real-life’ application, developing a student alert system. Next Century personnel are acting as ‘customers’ for this project, which gives students valuable training in working with real customers. The students are also going to present their project in Next Century’s offices and will get an experience of actual office/industry setting.”

~Karuna Joshi, Research Assistant Professor, UMBC

“Through his work as a student caller with UMBC’s Phonathon, Jordan, class of 2014, has done exceptional work on behalf of UMBC and the Meyerhoff program. He has had hundreds of conversations with alumni and parents, helping to secure many gifts for the  LaMont Toliver Alumni Memorial Scholarship. This fall, Jordan himself made a contribution to the LaMont Toliver Alumni Memorial Scholarship. I was really impressed by his leadership as a student and donor. UMBC’s students often give back of their time and talent, but it’s more rare for students to part with their hard-earned paychecks. Jordan’s commitment to helping future generations of UMBC students excel was a really moving act that leaves a lasting legacy in Mr. Toliver’s name.”

~Dayna Carpenter, Director of Annual Giving

Check out UMBC’s Donor Roll, where we say thank you to everyone who has supported us each year.

Make it a March (and April) to remember by joining us for these great events coming soon:

Admissions Receptions
Various Dates

Are you a proud Retriever Believer? There are a variety of ways alumni can volunteer to give back to the UMBC community. One unique opportunity is to attend one of our many spring Admissions Receptions. These events are offered through Alumni Relations and the Admissions Office. The first two receptions will be held in March:

• Tuesday, March 11, 7 – 9 p.m., Baltimore (Hilton)
• Tuesday, March 25, 7 – 9 p.m., North Bethesda (Rockville/Strathmore)

Get more details and volunteer through our website.

Dessert & Discussion: Family Voices
Wednesday, March 12, 6:30 p.m.

Join us for a spring Dessert and Discussion with Professor Wendy Salkind (theatre) and two fellow alums for a reading of Harold Pinter’s early radio play, Family Voices.
Following the reading of this short play, Professor Salkind will informally respond to audience reactions to Pinter’s characters, and his Absurdist techniques in theatrical form. RSVP now!

Early-Bird Ticket Sales!
Wine Tasting and Silent Auction
Friday, April 25, 7 p.m

This is no average trip to the library. Get dressed to the nines and join fellow UMBC alumni and guests for an elegant party in the beautiful and historic George Peabody Library. Located in picturesque Mt. Vernon, the George Peabody Library will be a studied backdrop to an evening filled with jazz, excellent company, refined refreshments and fine wine. Your attendance and participation in the silent auction will benefit the Alumni Association Scholarship for current UMBC students. This event is brought to you by the UMBC Chapter of Young Alumni.

The ticket price includes unlimited wine tastings and heavy hors d’oeuvres. Purchase your tickets now until March 7 for the early bird price of $30.

The spring semester has officially kicked off, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have the students back on campus! We wish them well as they had back into the classroom and spend their evenings studying in the library. May will be here before you know it!

Want to join in on the fun this spring? Check out these cool happenings:

• Alumni events
• Campus events