| UMBC Retrievers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | University of Maryland, Baltimore County |
| Conference | America East |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletic director | Tiffany Tucker |
| Location | Catonsville, Maryland |
| Varsity teams | 17 |
| Basketball arena | Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena |
| Baseball stadium | The Baseball Factory Field at UMBC |
| Soccer stadium | Retriever Soccer Park |
| Mascot | True Grit |
| Nickname | Retrievers Dawgs |
| Fight song | UMBC Riser |
| Colors | Black and gold[1] |
| Website | umbcretrievers |
 | |
TheUMBC Retrievers are the athletic teams that represent theUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore County, located inCatonsville, Maryland, in intercollegiate athletics as a member of theDivision I level of theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in theAmerica East Conference since the 2003–04 academic year.[2] The Retrievers previously competed in theNortheast Conference (NEC) from 1998–99 to 2002–03; and in theBig South Conference from 1992–93 to 1997–98; while they also competed in theMason–Dixon Conference at theNCAA Division II ranks: the first variation of it from 1972–73 to 1977–78; and the second variation from 1983–84 to 1987–88.
On March 16, 2018, theRetrievers men's basketball teamdefeated the #1 rankedVirginia Cavaliers in theNCAA men's basketball tournament. The result marked the first time a 16-seed had ever defeated a 1-seed in the tournament out of 135 previous match-ups.[3][4]
UMBC competes in 17 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving and track & field (indoor and outdoor); while women's sports include basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball.
| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Softball |
| Basketball | Basketball |
| Cross country | Cross country |
| Lacrosse | Lacrosse |
| Soccer | Soccer |
| Swimming and diving | Swimming and diving |
| Track and field1 | Track and field1 |
| Volleyball | |
| 1 – includes both indoor and outdoor | |
The UMBC Retrievers baseball team competes at the Division I level of the NCAA.[5] The team is led byBob Mumma, and plays its home games atThe Baseball Factory Field at UMBC on campus inBaltimore. The Retrievers are members of theAmerica East Conference.[6]
The Retrievers won their first regular-season American East men's basketball title in 2007–08, and also qualified for their firstNCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. They had previously competed in the Division II men's basketball tournament.
In2018, they became the first 16-seeded team in the history of the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament to defeat a 1-seeded team by beating theVirginia Cavaliers 74–54.[7]
Retrievers basketball games are broadcast by Paul Mittermeier andGary Stein as well as Troy Greene and Dan Levin.
The UMBC Retrievers men's soccer team won the America East Conference in 2010, receiving an automatic bid to theNCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. The Retrievers won their first-round game againstPrinceton but lost in the second round in a shootout to a rankedWilliam & Mary team.
The 2010 team's star striker,Levi Houapeu, was drafted as the fifth pick in the third round of the2011 MLS SuperDraft by thePhiladelphia Union. He is the first UMBC player to be drafted into MLS.
The men also won the conference in 2012, going to the NCAA Tournament once again. They won their first-round game againstOld Dominion, but lost in penalty kicks in the second round to defending championNorth Carolina.
In 2013, the Retrievers led the country in overall record (16-1-3) and became the first team since 1997 to repeat as America East Conference champions. They were ranked #16 and earned a first round bye, as well as hosting UMBC's first-ever NCAA Tournament match in any sport. The Retrievers would fall in a penalty shootout for the third time in four years in the second round of the tournament, this time toUConn.
In 2014, the Retrievers won their third straight America East Conference championship and advanced the furthest of any UMBC NCAA Division I team by beating the #12-rankedCreighton 4–3 on PKs, as the Retrievers reached the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament semifinals. UMBC is the first team in tournament history to win four consecutive road games and to post shutouts in four consecutive games (which happened behind goalkeeper Billy Heavner and the back four ofJordan Becker,Oumar Ballo,Marquez Fernandez, andSpencer Williams againstWake Forest, #4-rankedMaryland, #13-rankedLouisville and #12-rankedCreighton) to reach the College Cup.[8]
The Retriever women's soccer team won their first American East Conference title and made their first NCAA tournament appearance in 2013, where they lost to #1-rankedVirginia Tech 2–0 in the first round. This was an amazing accomplishment considering the team had a cumulative record of 3-39-9 in their previous three years.[9]
The most recent change to the roster of supported sports was the dropping of the men's and women'stennis teams after the 2015–16 season. At the time of the tennis program's demise, the men competed in theMissouri Valley Conference and the women in the America East.[10]
The UMBC Retrievers dance team, cheerleading squad, mascot, and the "Down and Dirty Dawg" Pep Band also are supported through UMBC Athletics.
| Sport | Figure | Venue | Achievements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wrestling (Men) | Luke Broadwater | RAC Arena | NCWA National Championship- 10th place team: 2010, 9th place team: 2011, 8th place team: 2018. Individual National Champions: Alex Broadwater (149 lbs) 2008. Individual All Americans: Alex Broadwater 2007, 2008, 2009; Michael Hornzell (149 lbs) 2007; Justin Bowser (141 lbs) 2009; Angelo Ambridge (125 lbs) 2010; Zach Coe (165 lbs) 2010; Daniel Carr (149 lbs) 2011, 2012, 2013; Kekura Musa 2011; Brian Samuels (141 lbs) 2012; Alec Pence (197 lbs) 2012; Azamat Akhmedov (157 lbs) 2018; Martin Mitchell (149 lbs) 2018 |
| Ice Hockey (Men) | Zachary Calvitt | The Gardens Ice House | ACHA National Tournament 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014. ACHA National Semifinalist 2010, 2014. Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Champions 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014. Individual All-Americans: Nik Jost 2012, 2013. NCAA Tournament Appearances 2009, 2010, 2019 |
| Volleyball (Men) | RAC Arena | 2014 NCVF Quarterfinalist | |
| Rugby (Men) | Hannibal | Walker Field | 2015 3rd in Region |
The retriever mascot is aChesapeake Bay Retriever, the state dog ofMaryland. There is a statue of a retriever known as True Grit that stands in front of theRetriever Activities Center (RAC). UMBC's costumed mascot has been known both asTrue Grit and Fever. UMBC also once had a live mascot named Campus Sam. Today, there is a live mascot named Gritty. In 2007, True revealed he had a sister, Trudy Grit, at the volleyball pep rally. She was used as a mascot as well.
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of UMBC in 2006, the University held the "March of the Retrievers," a procession of 40 Chesapeake Bay Retrievers from the True Grit statue to the University Commons and then on to the UMBC Soccer Stadium, site of the Homecoming soccer match.
True Grit is the name of themascot atUMBC. True Grit appears in two forms: Both as astatue in front of theRetriever Activities Center of aChesapeake Bay Retriever and as a costumed mascot, ananthropomorphized Chesapeake Bay Retriever. The latter can typically be seen in attire of whatever sport he is currently attending; this is most oftenbasketball orlacrosse.
The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is the state dog ofMaryland and has been the mascot of UMBC since weeks after its founding in 1966.[11] The costumed mascot was alternately known as "Fever the Retriever" in the late 1990s. The University also once had a live mascot, upon whom the True Grit statue is based, named Campus Sam.[12] At the beginning of the 2008 fall semester, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever puppy was chosen as a new mascot. He attends many athletic events and an online poll was held on the Retriever Activities Center website to choose his name, which was ultimately decided as "Gritty".
The costumed mascot has been fairly consistent throughout the years, with one notable exception. Atconvocation at the beginning of the 2002–2003 academic year, a new mascot costume was unveiled that was quite different from the previous costume. This mascot was active throughout the rest of the school year, but following that year a familiar-looking mascot returned—the new costume was similar to the first edition with a slightly darker brown coat.
The UMBC Riser is the official fight song of the UMBC Retrievers, and was written by Dr. George LaNoue, a professor of policy sciences.[13]
UMBC's alma mater debuted in 2006 in conjunction with the 40th anniversary festivities. The tune isAmerican Hymn byMatthias Keller, and the lyrics and arrangement are by Jari Villanueva, former director of UMBC's pep band.[14]
UMBC built a brand new, $85 million arena and events center and opened it as theChesapeake Employers Insurance Arena on February 3, 2018.[15] The new arena hosts Retriever basketball and volleyball games, as well as convocations, speaker events, and other community events.[16]
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