Campus Life

Cheering on the team at Retriever Soccer Park

Homecoming Offers Black and Gold Fun for All

/ 3 minutes of reading

Black and gold streamers are flying across campus and pathways are covered in paw prints. That can only mean one thing: Homecoming 2018 is here. Running October 4 through 14, Homecoming is a great opportunity to reconnect with friends and the Retriever community while enjoying dozens of events from long-standing favorites to new traditions. The festivities kick off on Thursday, Oct. 4, with the 30th Annual Alumni Awards Ceremony, honoring outstanding alumni and faculty members for their contributions to the university. This year, UMBC will recognize alumni Kimberly Ellison Taylor ’93, information systems; Saira Khan ’09, English; Mark Doms ’86, mathematics and economics; Wanda Keyes… Continue Reading Homecoming Offers Black and Gold Fun for All

Bookstore Bob Leaves the Building

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Rooted in the far corner, a leafy green plant has grown nearly across the office, curling around a large ticking clock, and hugging framed photographs a proud father has mounted on the wall. It keeps going, its stem and leaves circling the desktop monitor, dangling just beneath the ceiling. Below it sits its owner, “Bookstore Bob” Somers, mustachioed manager of the UMBC Bookstore. He brought a much smaller, nearly-dead version of the plant with him when the shop moved to The Commons from the University Center 16 years ago. “I thought I’d kill it right away,” he says, with his… Continue Reading Bookstore Bob Leaves the Building

UMBC men's basketball at ESPY Awards

Suits and Celebs and Selfies, Oh My! Getting ESPYS Ready

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Topping off a history-making year, the celebrations continue tonight for UMBC men’s basketball with a nomination for “Best Moment” at this year’s ESPY Awards. Before they jetted off for a star-studded night in Los Angeles, we caught up with some of the players hitting the red carpet to answer the hard-hitting questions #RetrieverNation needs to know.ESPYs voting is open until the start of the show at 8 p.m. EST. Click here to vote for the Retrievers!Q: It’s a night that sports enthusiasts dream of. Is there one celebrity you’re looking most forward to seeing? Q: The single most important question… Continue Reading Suits and Celebs and Selfies, Oh My! Getting ESPYS Ready

The Shot Heard ‘Round the World

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When UMBC dethroned the University of Vermont, 65 – 62, to win the America East men’s basketball champion ship on March 10, few anticipated the journey ahead. A stunning three-point shot by Jairus Lyles, with less than a second left on the clock, didn’t just catapult UMBC to the NCAA tournament, it set the tone for the nail-biting, heart-pounding, history-making run that would follow. Continue Reading The Shot Heard ‘Round the World

Life is Tweet – UMBC Men’s Basketball Makes History

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As the team captured the nation’s heart on the court, Zach Seidel ’12, M.S. ’15, captivated Twitter with his snarky-yet-respectful play-by-play of the game. And as the team found themselves the subject of interviews and memes, so did Seidel, as he playfully shut down Sharpie-wielding haters while simultaneously inviting the world to join #RetrieverNation. Here, Seidel talks with his dad, fellow alum and sports writer Jeff Seidel ’85, about what those first days were like. Jeff: Did you realize what was going on nationally? Zach: No, not until there were about three or four minutes left in the game when… Continue Reading Life is Tweet – UMBC Men’s Basketball Makes History

UMBC's gamelan, a unique Indonesian musical instrument

Beat of a Different Drum: UMBC’s Unique Musical Instrument, the Gamelan

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In the corner of the Music Box theater, a spacious room on the first floor of the Performing Arts and Humanities Building, lives a curious collection of gold-colored instruments. Organized in an ensemble on the floor, all of the pieces make up the gamelan, one of the most unique musical instruments on campus. “Take your shoes off and find a spot to jump right in,” says instructor Gina Beck, M.A. ’90, ethnomusicology, as she invites her students to sit on floor mats behind each individual piece of the Indonesian instrument. They file in toward the gamelan and choose their places.… Continue Reading Beat of a Different Drum: UMBC’s Unique Musical Instrument, the Gamelan

UMBC ends historic men's basketball season with pride, gratitude. #RetrieverNation

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UMBC’s historic 20-point win over no. 1 seed University of Virginia last Friday gave the Retrievers a taste of NCAA victory. Two days and one Sports Illustrated cover later, UMBC battled Kansas State in a nail-biting, neck-and-neck second round contest. The Retrievers trailed the Wildcats by just one point for much of the game, eventually ceding to Kansas State, 43-50 (see ESPN recap). Just after Friday’s round one victory, NCAA’s Kyle Boone suggested, “Jairus Lyles was the best player on the floor…and he likely will be again come Sunday when they take on the Wildcats.”  Lyles ‘17, sociology, M.A. ‘18, education,… Continue Reading UMBC ends historic men's basketball season with pride, gratitude. #RetrieverNation

UMBC men’s basketball makes history with victory over UVA, heads to NCAA round two

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As Retriever Nation erupted with joy for UMBC’s 74-54 upset victory over the University of Virginia—a team thought unbeatable just hours before—millions of new fans learned for the first time what UMBC stands for: University of a Million Brackets Crushed. Or U Must Be Cinderella. Or, as longtime Retriever fans will tell you, U Made the Best Choice. Friday’s game wasn’t just record-setting, expectation-smashing victory for UMBC. It was also a major first for the NCAA. Never before has a no. 16 seed bested a no. 1 in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, until UMBC, as NPR noted, “beat the… Continue Reading UMBC men’s basketball makes history with victory over UVA, heads to NCAA round two

UMBC rewrites the record books with NCAA victory over #1 UVA

/ 5 minutes of reading

With tonight’s 74-54 win over the University of Virginia’s (UVA) Cavaliers, UMBC has made basketball history as the first No. 16 seed team to best a No. 1 seed in an NCAA men’s tournament. The victory sends the team into the second round of play versus Kansas State, on Sunday, March 18. In the first half, the Retrievers stayed consistently within striking distance of the Cavaliers, pushing to a tie at halftime. They came back fresh, with an impressive run of confident three-pointers that took them all the way home. “UMBC is the talk of the nation right now…what they’re doing… Continue Reading UMBC rewrites the record books with NCAA victory over #1 UVA

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