The Virginia Cavaliers have hired a new basketball coach, and it is an individual who helped author one of the most infamous moments in the program’s history.
Virginia confirmed Saturday that it has hired VCU’s Ryan Odom as its new head coach. Odom grew up in Charlottesville as his father, Dave Odom, served as an assistant on the Cavaliers’ staff. He even served as a ballboy for the Cavaliers when he was younger.
𝙒𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙜𝙪𝙮!
— Virginia Men's Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) March 22, 2025
Welcome back to Charlottesville, Coach Odom!
🗒️ https://t.co/eOvaeKtOrb
🔶⚔️🔷#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/3r7dqqS3rq
This, however, is not what most people think of when they link Odom and Virginia. Odom was the head coach of the UMBC Retrievers in 2018 when they became the first No. 16 seed in NCAA Tournament history to defeat a No. 1 seed. The victim of that upset was none other than the Cavaliers.
To be clear, Virginia is not hiring Odom because he defeated them as a No. 16 seed seven years ago. He has demonstrated his credentials in many ways since then, including a successful stint at Utah State and another successful rebuild at VCU. The Rams went 28-7 this season, though they lost to BYU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Virginia rebounded to win the national championship one year after the UMBC upset, with the Retrievers cheering them on. If you believe that the infamous loss helped inspire the Cavaliers’ run a year later, you could argue that Odom has already helped the school. Now, he will be tasked with rebuilding their program a year after Tony Bennett’s shocking departure.
Virginia is coming off a 15-17 season. That represents the program’s first losing season since 2009-10, Bennett’s first year in charge.
