UMBC adds 1 big catch on the future of its head coach
Every year in the NCAA tournament, there are mid-majors who pull off shocking upsets and immediately thrust their coach into the conversation for much bigger jobs.
That is no different this year, but what is different is that the mid-major didn’t just pull off an upset, it pulled off the upset of the tournament and probably the biggest upset in tournament history.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, led by coach Ryan Odom, defeated the No. 1 overall team, Virginia, in the first round to become the first No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed. Before the game, 16 seeds were 0-135 all time against top seeds.
With the shocking victory, Odom has become one of the hottest names to emerge for other coaching opportunities and from schools that can offer much more money than UMBC can. The Retrievers undoubtedly want to retain him, but a school in the America East Conference can only offer so much, and athletic director Tim Hall admitted as much Sunday.
“We need to do within our realm what we can,” Hall told ESPN. “We obviously can’t do what the Power 5 schools can do, or anything near that. I think at some point Ryan wants to do it on a bigger stage. I’m just hoping it’s down the road instead of now.”
“We’re going to put something on the table that will be really good for where we’re at,” he added. “We’re going to do everything in our power to incentivize him to stay here.”
The 43-year-old Odom just finished his second season at UMBC, which is his first Division I head coaching position. Two years ago he was coaching at Lenoir-Rhyne, a Division II program, and he spent the previous 19 years as an assistant coach.
Odom signed a seven-year contract when he joined the Retrievers, and he makes $230,000 in base salary. But he made another $35,000 in bonuses this year, according to Steve Berkowitz of USA Today.
UMBC coach Ryan Odom's bonuses so far:
–$10,000 for 20 or more wins
–$7,500 for winning America East tournament
–$7,500 for team's appearance in NCAA tournament
–$10,000 for tonight's first-round win— Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) March 17, 2018
Still, $265,000 is pocket change for what coaches from Power 5 conferences are making. USA Today published the salaries of coaches from the Power 5 conferences, and the lowest-paid head coach makes just over $1 million — or about four times as much as Odom made this year.
Even mid-major programs like Middle Tennessee and San Diego State pay their coaches over $750,000, and neither of those teams won a game in the NCAA tournament.
Hall wants to stay “within our realm,” but you would think that Odom would immediately vault to the top of coaching salaries for mid-majors.
The University of Pittsburgh job is the only current opening at a Power 5 school (Louisville has an interim coach in David Padgett), but there could be many more in the coming weeks and months pending the fallout of the college basketball corruption scandal.
Athletic directors from Power 5 schools who are considering Odom obviously will look at the Virginia upset, but they should also look at the success he has had since joining UMBC in 2016.
The Retrievers have won 46 games over the past two seasons. They won 41 games combined over the previous seven seasons under two different head coaches.
Odom’s success isn’t just a one-game fluke, but he’s not even thinking about the future and possibly leaving UMBC.
“I haven’t even thought about it right now,” he told reporters Sunday. “I’m their coach. I’m here. I’m sure they’d like me to be here and I want to still be here.”
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