Virginia hiring former UMBC coach who beat school as first 16-seed to win March Madness game: report

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Virginia has apparently found its new head basketball coach in a crazy sense of irony.

The Cavaliers have reportedly hired VCU head coach Ryan Odom, who seven years ago was on the UMBC sidelines when they became the first 16-seed to ever beat a No. 1 team in March Madness. That team was Virginia.

The Cavaliers entered that 2018 contest as 20.5-point favorites, but the final score was the exact opposite; the Retreivers throttled Virginia, 74-54, after blowing them out in the second half.

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UMBC Retrievers head coach Ryan Odom during the practice day before the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament at Spectrum Center.  (Bob Donnan-USA Today Sports)

Odom did not have similar magic this March, as his No. 11 VCU squad fell to sixth-seeded BYU in the first round of this year's tournament. 

The 50-year-old lasted at UMBC until 2021 when he went off to Utah State; he joined VCU ahead of the 2023 campaign, and is now set to man the Cavaliers, according to CBS Sports.

Ron Sanchez took over as the team's interim head coach after Tony Bennett's sudden retirement in October, just weeks before the season started. Bennett was quick to point the finger at NIL, saying he was "no longer the best coach to lead this program in the current environment."

If you’re going to do it, you’ve got to be all in. You have to give everything. If you do it half-hearted. It’s not fair to the university and those young men. That’s what made me step away," Bennett said at his retirement press conference.

Virginia Cavaliers head men's basketball coach Tony Bennett (R) reacts at a press conference announcing his