University of Nevada Athletics

Football, Boxing, Track & Field (1969-72)
Bill Marioni will be remembered as one of Nevada’s most outstanding all-around athletes. He won seven letters in three sports — football, boxing, and track— in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. He won the Doc Martie Award, which is awarded annually to the top male athlete each year. A graduate of Sonoma High School in Santa Rosa, Calif., Marioni was a safety and punt return specialist under head coach Jerry Scattini from 1970-72. He set career records for punt returns (59) and years returned (667). Prior to his football career, Marioni was captain of the 1969 track team. Individually that year he was all-conference, All-Pacific Coast and All-America as a sprinter. He also boxed for three years, punching his way to a California Boxing Conference championship and into the semifinals of the United States Golden Gloves national tournament. Marioni attended law school after he graduated from Nevada and went on to serve as a public defender and defense attorney in Sonoma County.