For the first time since becoming the first No. 16 seed to knock off a No. 1 seed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, UMBC is back in the Big Dance.

The Retrievers, led by head coach Jim Ferry, knocked off Vermont 74-59 in the America East Tournament Championship on Saturday to secure the bid.

Following their victory over No. 1 Virginia in 2018, UMBC Athletics gained notoriety on social media for their hilarious tweets. One of those tweets was directed at Alabama football, fresh off its win over Georgia in the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship.

Just saying hello, we’ve be having some fun with No.1 teams lately, we don’t have a football team, though

— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) April 7, 2018

UMBC Athletics pokes fun at Alabama’s Rose Bowl loss to Indiana

UMBC returned to social media prominence on Saturday, going after Alabama once again. Instead of respecting the Crimson Tide, however, the Retrievers went after their 38-3 loss to Indiana in the 2025 Rose Bowl Game.

In that Rose Bowl game, Indiana jumped onto Kalen DeBoer and Alabama immediately. The Hoosiers held a 17-0 lead at halftime, and immediately responded with another touchdown in the third quarter to make it a 31-3 game after Alabama kicked a field goal to get on the board. The loss came as a massive disappointing to Crimson Tide faithful, disappointing with the program after losing their fourth game of the season.

While UMBC is clearly joking, there’s no doubt the joke will not go over well with Alabama fans. An NCAA Tournament matchup between the two programs would certainly be appointment viewing after the Retrievers’ repeated jabs.

UMBC is headed back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time under head coach Jim Ferry, who replaced head coach Ryan Odom following his departure for the Utah State job in 2021. Odom has emerged as one of the brightest coaches in all of college basketball since he left UMBC. He remained at Utah State for two seasons prior to jumping to VCU, where he spent two more seasons. He is currently in the midst of his first season at Virginia, and has the Cavaliers headed to the ACC Championship Game.

The Terriers are seeking their second ever NCAA Tournament victory, as they immediately fell to No. 9 seed Kansas State in the Round of 32. They are heading into the Big Dance with a 23-8 record, their best since they went 25-11 in the infamous 2017-18 season.