This man once dreamed UMBC's upset could happen for UMKC

They’re the darlings of college basketball, the low-major program from the university in an urban setting that invested in athletics because it understood the potential rewards from a moment like this — being the first No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in men's NCAA Tournament history.

Yes, ambition and persistence paid off for UMKC.

Er, UMBC.

University of Maryland-Baltimore County made history on Friday night when the Retrievers defeated top-ranked Virginia 74-54.

University of Missouri-Kansas City did not. But UMBC athletic boss Tim Hall once envisioned the same scenario for his former employer in Kansas City.

One letter in the title but a world of difference.

Moments after the UMBC players and coach Ryan Odom answered news conference questions, Hall remained in the corridor between the podium and the still-jubilant locker room. In the glow of the improbable victory, he reminisced about his previous job, six years at UMKC that ended in 2013 when he moved east.

“The same kind of blueprint that made us successful here, we wanted for UMKC,” he said.

But the decisions made at the Baltimore school have paid off. Those made in Kansas City to this point haven’t, at least not in the same way.

In February, the Retrievers moved into a new building, the $85 million on-campus Event Center that seats 4,700 for basketball and includes an academic center and sports medicine facility. The school, the University of Maryland system, private gifts and borrowing paid for the structure.

“There’s a difference in the level of support here,” Hall said.

UMKC transports its men’s team from campus to Municipal Auditorium, making it difficult for students to attend games.

The Retrievers have been members of the America East Conference since 2003 and qualified for this year’s tournament by winning the conference tournament title game at Vermont on a buzzer-beating three-pointer.

UMKC is a member of the Western Athletic Conference, moving from the Summit League five years ago in a plan intended to boost the school’s appeal with another league jump in mind.

The Kangaroos hired Louisville assistant Kareem Richardson fresh off the Cardinals’ 2013 NCAA title and switched to the WAC, a league with more schools closer in athletic budget to UMKC.

If UMKC had success in the WAC, perhaps it would become more attractive to the conference it longs to join, the Missouri Valley.

But although the Kangaroos have had two winning WAC records over the past four years, the program hasn’t had that breakthrough season, or anything close to what UMBC experienced on Friday.

“I’ll work to get us in front of the (Missouri) Valley, to get us a site visit,” Hall recalled thinking. “But I knew it would be a long shot.”

UMKC got that site visit in 2013, when the Valley was looking to replace Creighton. But Loyola Chicago was the choice, and the Ramblers delivered their own NCAA Tournament shining moment on Thursday, defeating Miami as a No. 11 seed in the first round.

To be fair, nobody — ever — has matched what the Retrievers pulled off in their incredible triumph. Since the NCAA Tournament bracket expended to 64 teams in 1985, 135 times a No. 16 seed faced a top seed and lost.

UMBC wouldn't become the 136th victim.

As Hall was chatting, Lucia Odom, the coach’s wife, stopped by and shared her sense of the moment.

“I felt it all day, and on the way over here,” she said. “I’m still stunned that we did it. But it just felt like there was something special about this all day.”

Before the bracket was announced the Retrievers coaching staff thought they might be a 15 seed. But when the pairings were posted, the opponent was the one they believed gave them the best chance at the upset.

Virginia had played deliberately on offense all season, keeping its games low-scoring and giving opponents a chance they perhaps wouldn’t have against a team that plays faster.

The Cavaliers were down an important player, Atlantic Coast Conference Sixth Man of the Year De’Andre Hunter, who had broken his wrist in the ACC Tournament.

Still, the outcome, and the margin, now stands as the greatest upset in NCAA Tournament history, and UMBC is basking in the attention.

This was Hall’s dream for UMKC.

This story was originally published March 17, 2018 at 12:19 PM with the headline "This man once dreamed UMBC's upset could happen for UMKC."