Hall of Fame
Football & Regent (1946-49, 1970-74)
William Morris, known around athletic and political circles as “Wildcat” Morris, was a four-year letterman on the University of Nevada football teams of the late 1940s. He participated in Nevada’s first two bowl appearances: the 1947 Salad Bowl in Phoenix and the 1948 Harbor Bowl in San Diego. During his four years on the team as an interior lineman, the Wolf Pack went 31-9. He was selected to play in the Hawaii Football Classic (now known as the Hula Bowl) in January of 1949 as one to the nation’s outstanding college seniors. Morris went onto become an attorney and hotel owner in Las Vegas and continued to be instrumentally involved with collegiate athletics in the state of Nevada as fundraiser, Board of Regents member, benefactor and fan. He was very influential in the legislation which led to the funding of Lawlor Events Center and UNLV’s Thomas and Mack Center. He was the recipient of the Lawlor Award during the 1984 Wolf Club Governor’s Dinner, an event he helped start as a booster. Morris passed away in 1998 in Reno while on his way to the Governor’s Dinner.
