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. Duke University and Murray State University have the most retired numbers among Division I programs, with 13 each. Unlike professional leagues, no one player has had his number retired by two teams.
Some programs such as Indiana, Kansas, Syracuse, [1] Oklahoma State, Georgetown, Stanford, Maryland, or Baylor, have not officially retired jersey numbers yet. 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 the University of Texas at El Paso, which retired number 14 worn first by Bobby Joe Hill (1961–1966) and then by Nate "Tiny" Archibald (1967–70). [2]
Elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player |
Player on a team elected as a unit to the Basketball Hall of Fame |
Christopher Paul Mullin is an American former professional basketball player, executive and coach. He is a two-time Olympic Gold medalist and a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee.
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.
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.
Derrick Joseph Chievous is a retired American professional basketball player. During his pro club career, he played at the small forward position. Chievous played three seasons in the National Basketball Association, after being selected by the Houston Rockets, in the first round, with the 16th overall pick of the 1988 NBA draft.
The Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team represents Duke University in NCAA Division I college basketball and competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The team is fifth all-time in wins of any NCAA men's basketball program, and is currently coached by Jon Scheyer.
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.
The Miami RedHawks men's basketball team — known as the Miami Redskins until 1997 — is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Miami University. The school competes in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The RedHawks play home basketball games at Millett Hall in Oxford, Ohio on the university campus. Miami has reached the NCAA Championship's Sweet Sixteen four times and has been the MAC regular season champions 20 times. The RedHawks have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 17 times, most recently in 2007. The team is currently coached by Travis Steele.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball team represents Wake Forest University in NCAA Division I college basketball and competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Through the years, the program has produced many NBA players, among them are Hall of Famer Tim Duncan, 12× All-Star Chris Paul, 1× All-Star Jeff Teague, Sixth Man of the Year Rodney Rogers, and 1× All-Star Josh Howard. The Demon Deacons have won the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament four times, in 1961, 1962, 1995, and 1996. Wake Forest has appeared in 23 NCAA tournaments, most recently appearing in 2017. The current coach is Steve Forbes, who was hired on April 30, 2020.
The UAB Blazers men's basketball team represents the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in NCAA Division I men's college basketball, with the 2023–24 season being the Blazers' first as members of the American Athletic Conference. The Blazers play home games at Bartow Arena and are coached by Andy Kennedy. UAB has appeared 17 times in the NCAA men's basketball tournament and most recently appeared in 2024.
The New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team represents New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1904, the Aggies compete in Conference USA after spending 18 seasons in the Western Athletic Conference from 2005 through 2023. The Aggies, who last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2022, are one of 34 college basketball teams with multiple NBA retired jerseys from former players and a team that reached the NCAA Final Four. The team plays home games in the Pan American Center.
The Old Dominion Monarchs men's basketball team represents Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, United States in NCAA Division I men's competition. The school's team currently competes in the Sun Belt Conference.
The UMass Minutemen basketball team represents the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Amherst, Massachusetts, in NCAA Division I men's college basketball. They play their home games in the William D. Mullins Memorial Center. The Minutemen currently compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Beginning in the 2025–26 season, the team will play as a member of the Mid-American Conference.
The San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball team is the men's college basketball program that represents San Diego State University. The Aztecs compete in NCAA Division I as a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW). The team plays their home games at Viejas Arena.
Wendell Hudson is a retired American basketball player and former Associate Athletics Director for Alumni Relations and the former women's basketball program head coach of Alabama Crimson Tide women's basketball. In 1969, Hudson signed for Alabama coach C.M. Newton and thus became the first African-American scholarship athlete in any sport at the University of Alabama. On April 22, 2013, Hudson resigned after he served five seasons as head coach of the Alabama women's basketball team. He now serves in an administrative role in the athletic department.
The Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball team represents Norfolk State University, located in Norfolk, Virginia, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. They currently compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Spartans are currently coached by Robert Jones and play their home games at the Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (7,000). The Spartans men's basketball team is best known for defeating the #2 seeded Missouri in the 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 86–84, the first tournament appearance for Norfolk State. It was only the fifth time that a 15th seed has defeated a 2nd seed. Norfolk State has qualified for the NCAA tournament at the Division I level three times, in 2012, 2021, and 2022.
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.
In 1987, both his uniform numbers—23 in basketball and 66 in football—were retired by Clemson Athletics.
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