The UMBC Retrievers are facing a problem that many other successful NCAA Tournament mid-majors have faced — a highly thought-of coach who will be the target of bigger schools.
The Retrievers are, however, preparing an offer in an effort to keep coach Ryan Odom in the fold.
“We need to do within our realm what we can,” UMBC athletic director Tim Hall said Sunday, via Jeff Goodman of 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. We’re going to do everything in our power to incentivize him to stay here.”
A return to Virginia isn’t going to be on the cards, but Odom will draw wide amounts of interest. It remains to be seen whether UMBC can compete financially with some of the other schools that will want him.
