Teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) retire jersey numbers of players who either are considered by the team to have made significant contributions to that team's success, or who have experienced untimely deaths during their playing career. As with other leagues, once a team retires a player's jersey number, it never issues the number to any other player, unless the player or team explicitly allows it.
Since NCAA teams began retiring numbers, many players have had their jersey number retired. Pittsburgh have the most retired numbers with 10. Unlike professional leagues, no one player has had his number retired by two teams.
Unlike major sports leagues in the United States such as MLB (which retired Jackie Robinson's number 42) and the NHL (which did so for Wayne Gretzky's 99), the NCAA has never retired a jersey number league-wide in honor of anyone.
Nevertheless, there are some cases of retirement of a same number honoring two different players, such as Houston, which retired number 7 worn by David Klingler and Case Keenum, among other similar cases.
Moreover, Michigan retired a number for three players, the #11 in honor of the Wistert brothers. [1] The same did Brigham Young University (BYU), retiring number 6 for three different footballers, Marc Wilson, Robbie Bosco, and Luke Staley. [2]
Since 2005, Syracuse holds the record of players honored with a number retirement after the University retired no. 44 worn by 25 different players between 1921 and 1998.
There are also some strange cases such as UCLA retiring #42 for Jackie Robinson; although he wore No. 28 for the football team; the school chose to retire No. 42 because it was more identified with him after Robinson wore that number throughout his Hall of Fame baseball career with the Brooklyn Dodgers. [3] [4]
Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame |
Robert Jerry Lanier Jr. was an American professional basketball player. He played center for the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lanier was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.
John Harold Lambert is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for his entire 11-year career for Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990 as "the greatest linebacker of his era," Lambert was the starting middle linebacker on four Super Bowl-winning teams with the Steelers. He played college football for the Kent State Golden Flashes.
Harold Everett Greer was an American professional basketball player. He played for the Syracuse Nationals / Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1958 through 1973. A guard, Greer was a 10-time NBA All-Star and was named to the All-NBA Second Team seven times. He was named to the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, and his uniform number was among Philadelphia 76ers retired numbers. Greer is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.
In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar is the number worn on a player's uniform, to identify and distinguish each player from others wearing the same or similar uniforms. The number is typically displayed on the rear of the jersey, often accompanied by the surname. Sometimes it is also displayed on the front and/or sleeves, or on the player's shorts or headgear. It is used to identify the player to officials, other players, official scorers, and spectators; in some sports, it is also indicative of the player's position.
Albert Alexander "Ox" Wistert was an American football offensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles. He played his entire nine-year NFL career for the Eagles and became their team captain. He was named to play in the NFL's first Pro Bowl as an Eagle. During most of Wistert's career there were no football All-star games, although he was named to the league All-Pro team four times.
The Colorado Buffaloes football program represents the University of Colorado at Boulder in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level, and is a member of the Big 12 Conference. The team was a charter member of the Big 12 before leaving to join the Pac-12 Conference after the 2010 season. After 13 seasons in the Pac-12, the Buffaloes returned to the Big 12 in 2024. Before joining the Big 12, they were members of the Big Eight Conference. The CU football team has played at Folsom Field since 1924. The Buffs all-time record is 716–520–36 as of the 2022 season. Colorado won the 1990 National Championship. The football program is 27th on the all-time win list and 40th in all-time winning percentage.
The Washington Huskies football team represents the University of Washington in college football. Washington competed in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Big Ten Conference, after having been a charter member of the Pac-12 Conference until the end of the 2023-2024 season. Husky Stadium, located on campus in Seattle, has been the Huskies' home field since 1920.
Byron Ledare "By" Bailey was an American professional football player, primarily as a fullback and defensive back for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Bailey is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the BC Sports Hall of Fame, the B.C. Lions Wall of Fame, and the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame. Bailey's #38 jersey is one of eight numbers retired by the B.C. Lions. In 2006, Bailey was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.
The Syracuse Orange football team represents Syracuse University in the sport of American football. The Orange compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Syracuse is the only Division I FBS school in New York to compete in one of the Power Five conferences.
Retiring the number of an athlete is an honor a team bestows upon a player, usually after the player has left the team, retires from the sport, or dies, by taking the number formerly worn on his or her uniform out of circulation. Once a number is retired, no future player from the team may wear it, unless the original player permits it; however, in many cases the number cannot be used at all. Such an honor may also be bestowed on players who had highly memorable careers, died prematurely under tragic circumstances, or have had their promising careers ended by serious injury. Some sports that retire team numbers include baseball, cricket, ice hockey, basketball, American football, and association football. Retired jerseys are often referred to as "hanging from the rafters" as they are, literally, put to hang in the team's home venue.
In American football, uniform numbers are displayed on both the front and back of the jersey, and in many cases the sleeves, shoulder pad, or occasionally helmets. The numbers on the front and back are very large, covering most of the jersey. Certain numbers may only be worn by players in specific positions, thus assisting the officials in determining penalties.
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team is the men's basketball team that represents Western Kentucky University (WKU) in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The Hilltoppers currently compete in Conference USA. The team's most recent appearance in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was in 2024. Hank Plona was announced as the team's current head coach on April 2, 2024.
The men's college basketball program of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) was founded in 1920 and is known competitively as the UCLA Bruins. The Bruins have won 11 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I national championships, the most of any school. UCLA players have been assigned jersey numbers ranging from 0 to 78 in the team's history. The school no longer issues nine retired numbers in honor of 10 former players. To qualify, a player must have been a three-time consensus All-American, a consensus national player of the year, or been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The retired numbers are displayed in the rafters of the Bruins' home arena, Pauley Pavilion. UCLA's legendary coach John Wooden generally opposed having numbers retired.
Watson has worn uniform No. 4 – his number at Gainesville High School – thanks to former Clemson standout quarterback Steve Fuller, who agreed to have his jersey come out of retirement several years ago, not long after Watson committed to coach Dabo Swinney and the Tigers.
The Clemson freshmen numbers were released today and running back Tavien Feaster will wearing No. 28, the first player to do since explosive playmaker C. J. Spiller was in Tiger Town. Feaster wore No. 28 throughout high school and it seems that the number will come out of retirement for the explosive freshman this season.
In 1987, both his uniform numbers—23 in basketball and 66 in football—were retired by Clemson Athletics.