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The UMBC Retrievers are the athletic teams that represent the
University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a Public university, public research university in Catonsville, Maryland named after Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County. It had a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 un ...
, located in
Catonsville, Maryland Catonsville () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland. The population was 44,701 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 US Census. The community is a streetcar suburb of Baltimore along the cit ...
, in intercollegiate athletics as a member of the Division I level of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
(NCAA), primarily competing in the
America East Conference The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachu ...
since the 2003–04 academic year. The Retrievers previously competed in the
Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...
(NEC) from 1998–99 to 2002–03; and in the
Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...
from 1992–93 to 1997–98; while they also competed in the
Mason–Dixon Conference The Mason–Dixon Conference is a defunct NCAA Division II (former ''NCAA College Division'') athletics conference, formed in 1936 and disbanded in October 1978. A track championship bearing the conference's name continued for several years after ...
at the
NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...
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, the Retrievers men's basketball team defeated the #1 ranked
Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic Coast C ...
in the
NCAA men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...
. The result marked the first time a 16-seed had ever defeated a 1-seed in the tournament out of 135 previous match-ups.


Sports sponsored

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.


Baseball

The UMBC Retrievers baseball team competes at the Division I level of the NCAA. The team is led by Bob Mumma, and plays its home games at The Baseball Factory Field at UMBC on campus in
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
. The Retrievers are members of the
America East Conference The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachu ...
.


Basketball

The Retrievers won their first regular-season American East men's basketball title in 2007–08, and also qualified for their first
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...
. They had previously competed in the Division II men's basketball tournament. In
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
, 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 the
Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic Coast C ...
74–54. Retrievers basketball games are broadcast by Paul Mittermeier and
Gary Stein Gary Stein is a sportscaster currently living in Baltimore, Maryland. He broadcasts for CBS Radio and Terrapin Sports Radio in Baltimore. He hosts the weekly Gary Stein Show, every Saturday on 105.7 the Fan. In addition, he hosts the Maryland T ...
as well as Troy Greene and Dan Levin.


Soccer

The UMBC Retrievers men's soccer team won the America East Conference in 2010, receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. The Retrievers won their first-round game against
Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...
but lost in the second round in a shootout to a ranked William & Mary team. The 2010 team's star striker, Levi Houapeu, was drafted as the fifth pick in the third round of the
2011 MLS SuperDraft The 2011 MLS SuperDraft was the twelfth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 13, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 2011 NSCAA Convention at the Baltimore Convention Center. The 2011 SuperDraft consi ...
by the
Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...
. 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 against Old Dominion, but lost in penalty kicks in the second round to defending champion
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
. 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 to
UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...
. 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-ranked Creighton 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 of Jordan Becker, Oumar Ballo, Marquez Fernandez, and
Spencer Williams Spencer Williams (October 14, 1889 – July 14, 1965) was an American jazz and popular music composer, pianist, and singer. He is best known for his hit songs " Basin Street Blues", " I Ain't Got Nobody", " Royal Garden Blues", " I've Found a N ...
against Wake Forest, #4-ranked
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
, #13-ranked
Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
and #12-ranked Creighton) to reach the College Cup. 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-ranked
Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...
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.


Tennis

The most recent change to the roster of supported sports was the dropping of the men's and women's
tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
teams after the 2015–16 season. At the time of the tennis program's demise, the men competed in the
Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...
and the women in the America East.


Cheerleading

The UMBC Retrievers dance team, cheerleading squad, mascot, and the "Down and Dirty Dawg" Pep Band also are supported through UMBC Athletics.


Non-varsity programs


Notable alumni

* Zach Clark
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
pitcher *
Wayne Franklin Gary Wayne Franklin (born March 9, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros (2000-2001), Milwaukee Brewers (2002-2003), San Francisco Giants (2004), N ...
– former
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
pitcher * Dan Marohl
National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league comprises 14 teams8 in the United States and 6 in Canada. The NLL is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...
forward for the
Minnesota Swarm The Minnesota Swarm was a box lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League who played at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota from 2004 until 2015. The team's previous owners (Minnesota Sports & Entertainment) who also own the NHL's ...
. * Steve Marohl – former
National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league comprises 14 teams8 in the United States and 6 in Canada. The NLL is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...
forward for the
Baltimore Thunder The Baltimore Thunder were an American professional box lacrosse team and a member of the National Lacrosse League from 1987 until 1999. They were based in Baltimore, Maryland, and won the first then-Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League championship in ...
and the
Pittsburgh Crossefire The Pittsburgh CrosseFire was an American professional box lacrosse team and a member of the National Lacrosse League during the 2000 NLL season. It was based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. History Relocation from Baltimore The franchise started o ...
;
Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001 Major League Lacrosse season, 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This w ...
attack for the
Baltimore Bayhawks The Chesapeake Bayhawks were a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) professional men's field lacrosse team based in Annapolis, Maryland. They played in the greater Baltimore metro area beginning with the MLL's inaugural 2001 season, as the Baltimore Bayhaw ...
. *
Brendan Mundorf Brendan Mundorf (born July 27, 1984) is an American lacrosse player who played for the Denver Outlaws of Major League Lacrosse and the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League. Early years Brendan Mundorf was born on July 27, 1984, i ...
National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league comprises 14 teams8 in the United States and 6 in Canada. The NLL is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...
forward for the New York Titans;
Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001 Major League Lacrosse season, 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This w ...
attack for the
Denver Outlaws The Denver Outlaws are a professional field lacrosse team based in Denver, Colorado, that competes in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). Founded as the Chrome Lacrosse Club, they began play as one of the league's six inaugural teams in the ...
. * Jeff Ratcliffe
National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league comprises 14 teams8 in the United States and 6 in Canada. The NLL is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...
forward for the New York Titans. * Drew Westervelt
National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league comprises 14 teams8 in the United States and 6 in Canada. The NLL is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...
forward for the
Philadelphia Wings Philadelphia Wings may refer to any of three distinct professional lacrosse teams: * Philadelphia Wings (1974–1975), a member of the original National Lacrosse League * Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014) The Philadelphia Wings were a member of ...
;
Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001 Major League Lacrosse season, 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This w ...
attack for the
Denver Outlaws The Denver Outlaws are a professional field lacrosse team based in Denver, Colorado, that competes in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). Founded as the Chrome Lacrosse Club, they began play as one of the league's six inaugural teams in the ...
. *
Jay Witasick Gerald Alphonse "Jay" Witasick Jr. (; born August 28, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched all or parts of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1996 to 2007, primarily as a relief pitcher. High school a ...
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
pitcher


Mascot

The retriever mascot is a
Chesapeake Bay Retriever The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is a large dog breed, breed of dog belonging to the retriever, Gun dog, gundog, and sporting Breed Groups (dog), breed groups. The breed was developed in the United States Chesapeake Bay area during the 19th century. H ...
, the state dog of
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
. There is a statue of a retriever known as True Grit that stands in front of the Retriever Activities Center (RAC). UMBC's costumed mascot has been known both as True 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

True Grit is the name of the
mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...
at UMBC. True Grit appears in two forms: Both as a
statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...
in front of the Retriever Activities Center of a
Chesapeake Bay Retriever The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is a large dog breed, breed of dog belonging to the retriever, Gun dog, gundog, and sporting Breed Groups (dog), breed groups. The breed was developed in the United States Chesapeake Bay area during the 19th century. H ...
and as a costumed mascot, an
anthropomorphized Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...
Chesapeake Bay Retriever. The latter can typically be seen in attire of whatever sport he is currently attending; this is most often
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
or
lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...
.


History

The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is the state dog of
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
and has been the mascot of UMBC since weeks after its founding in 1966. 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. 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. At
convocation A convocation (from the Latin ''wikt:convocare, convocare'' meaning "to call/come together", a translation of the Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:ἐκκλησία, ἐκκλησία ''ekklēsia'') is a group of people formally assembled for a specia ...
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.


UMBC Riser

The UMBC Riser is the official fight song of the UMBC Retrievers, and was written by Dr. George LaNoue, a professor of policy sciences.


Alma mater

UMBC's alma mater debuted in 2006 in conjunction with the 40th anniversary festivities. The tune is American Hymn by Matthias Keller, and the lyrics and arrangement are by Jari Villanueva, former director of UMBC's pep band.


Facilities

UMBC built a brand new, $85 million arena and events center and opened it as the
Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena The Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena (formerly the UMBC Event Center) is a basketball arena, concert and multi-purpose event venue on the campus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in Catonsville, Maryland. It is the home o ...
on February 3, 2018. The new arena hosts Retriever basketball and volleyball games, as well as convocations, speaker events, and other community events.


References


External links

* {{Maryland Sports