Hall of Fame
Basketball Coach (1959-88)
Jack Spencer spent almost 30 seasons as part of the Nevada men’s basketball coaching staff. A four-year starter who won a Big Ten championship at Iowa, he came to Nevada as head coach in 1959 after five seasons as the head coach at Iowa Wesleyan. In his 13 seasons as Nevada’s head coach, he guided his team to three Far West Conference championships, compiling an overall record of 126-196 while helping the Wolf Pack transition from Division II to NCAA Division I. Spencer's teams won Far West championships in 1961, 1963 and 1966, while his 1965-66 team went 21-6 overall and 10-0 in conference play. After his resignation following the 1972 season, he returned to the program the next year and served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for another 15 years under four head coaches Jim Padgett, Jim Carey, Sonny Allen and Len Stevens). He retired following the 1988 season and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990. In a retirement story in the Reno Gazette Journal, John Schumacher wrote “Spencer’s career cannot be measured just in wins and in losses championships and titles. His biggest contribution was not in numbers, but in people.” Spencer passed away in 2004 in Davenport, Iowa.
