The retirement of their jersey is one of the highest honors a former Wolf Pack student-athlete can achieve, and only six people have received that honor in the 125+ year history of Nevada Athletics.
This special honor is bestowed on former Wolf Pack student-athletes who have achieved significant athletic achievement and/or made a lasting contribution to their sport and Wolf Pack Athletics. Significant athletic achievement could include honors such as national and/or conference championships, postseason appearances, All-America status, national award recognition, conference player of the year selection, multiple all-conference selections and/or national or school record achievement.
While primarily an athletic honor, academic standing, progress toward degree, personal character, integrity and conduct will also be considered when making the decision to bestow this honor on a former Wolf Pack student-athlete.
Recommendations for retired jerseys can be forwarded to the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame Committee chair (Rhonda Bennett, rlundin@unr.edu) in the form of a letter. Additional supporting documentation may also accompany the recommendation letter. The department Leadership Team – with input from the Hall of Fame Committee - will consider any recommendations as received. The director of athletics will have responsibility for final consideration and approval.
Numbers previously retired in in football, men’s basketball and baseball prior to 2019 will remain retired and will not be worn in the future, but future honors are the retirement of a student-athlete’s jersey, not his/her number, and those jersey numbers will continue to be re-issued in the future. In special circumstances of exceptional national achievement or lasting contribution, Nevada Athletics reserves the right to bestow the honor of a future number retirement at the discretion of the director of athletics.
Nevada’s Retired Numbers
Football
#21 – Dick Trachok
An athlete, teacher, coach and administrator, Dick Trachok left an indelible mark on the history of Nevada Athletics, serving the University for parts of nine decades and being involved in nearly every significant development since the late 1940s. Wearing jersey number 21, Trachok was a standout on the football team from 1946-48, helping the Wolf Pack to a 25-6 record. He played fullback and halfback and played in the first two bowl games in school history: the 1948 Salad Bowl in Phoenix and the 1949 Harbor Bowl in San Diego. Dick was also a member of the track team and ran the quarter mile. It is said that he was never beaten in that event. Trachok became head football coach at the University of Nevada in 1959, serving in that capacity for 10 seasons through 1968.
Trachok was named Nevada’s director of athletics in 1969, taking over for his mentor and friend, Glenn “Jake” Lawlor, and served in that role until 1986. As athletics director, Trachok presided over some of the most significant events in Wolf Pack athletics department history, including the move to the Big Sky Conference in 1979, the first two NCAA appearances in the history of the Wolf Pack men’s basketball program, the 1979 AIAW small college national championship by the Wolf Pack women’s swimming and diving program, the hiring of future College Football Hall of Fame coach Chris Ault, the construction of Lawlor Events Center and the renovation of Mackay Stadium. He is also credited with founding the Governor's Dinner in 1969, which has become one of the major fundraisers for the Wolf Pack athletics department, and the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame in 1973. Trachok was inducted into the Hall of Fame he created in 1975. Trachok continued to serve the University as athletics director emeritus from 1986 until his death in 2020, rarely missing a home game in football or basketball, coming into the office nearly every day, keeping in touch with alumni and educating department coaches and staff in the history of Wolf Pack Athletics.
#27 – Frank Hawkins
The only Nevada player to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, Frank “The Hawk” Hawkins finished his career as the Wolf Pack’s all-time rushing leader and the NCAA’s third all-time rushing leader with 5,333 career yards. Even 40+ years after he left the Wolf Pack program, he still ranks in the top 20 in the NCAA. He led the NCAA I-AA in rushing in his junior and senior seasons and set the national mark for rushing for 100 yards or more in 21 consecutive games. As a freshman in 1977, Hawkins started slowly, gaining 486 yards and scoring two touchdowns. He broke out as a sophomore, earning All-America honors for the first time from the Associated Press after rushing for 1,445 yards and 15 touchdowns. He led the nation in rushing and repeated as an AP All-American the next two seasons with 1,683 yards and 13 TDs in 1979 and 1,719 yards and nine scores in 1980. His best game came in 1978 when he rushed for 293 yards on 27 carries with two touchdowns, a mark that still ranks third on Nevada’s single-game rushing list. Hawkins still holds Nevada’s career rushing record at 5,333 yards and appears numerous times in nearly every single-season and career list for rushing and scoring. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997 and had his Number 27 jersey retired by the Wolf Pack.
#41 – Marion Motley
A native of Canton, Ohio, Marion Motley came to the University of Nevada in 1940 where he quickly established himself as a star. Wearing No. 41, Motley broke into the starting lineup at fullback and linebacker and played for the Wolf Pack for three seasons from 1940-42. A powerful blocker and tackler at 6-1 and 240 pounds, he also returned several kickoffs for touchdown, including a 105-yarder in a 1941 game that is still tied for the school record. While Motley was at Nevada, a Reno reporter wrote that “in Marion Motley, the ball club has one of the best backs in the entire nation.”
Motley left Nevada in 1942 when he was inducted into the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was sent to the Great Lakes Naval Station just outside of Chicago where he played on the station football team, which was coached by future Pro Hall of Famer Paul Brown. In 1945, Brown signed on to coach the Cleveland Browns of the new All-American Football Conference, and gave Motley, then 26 years old, married with four children and working in a mill in his hometown, a chance to try out for his team. Motley made the Cleveland squad, and in 1946, he, Browns teammate Bill Willis and two African-American players signed by the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League, broke the color line in modern professional football. Motley played nine seasons of professional football, including eight with the Browns (1946-53) and one with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1955). He was the all-time rushing champion of the AAFC and led the National Football League in rushing in 1950. Called “the greatest fullback ever” by his coach Brown after a 1946 game, Motley amassed 4,720 rushing yards in his career and averaged a staggering 5.7 yards per carry, and played in the 1951 Pro Bowl. Motley was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his hometown of Canton, Ohio, in 1968, becoming the second African-American to earn the sport’s highest honor. He was inducted into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame in 1973 as part of the inaugural class.
Men’s Basketball
#22 – Nick Fazekas
Nick Fazekas saw his number 22 jersey hoisted to the rafters in Lawlor Events Center on February 27, 2019. During his career from 2004-07, Fazekas was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year three times, becoming the second player in league history to earn the award three consecutive years. He earned All-America honors in each of his last three seasons, including first-team selections by ESPN.com, USBWA and SI.com as a senior. A three-time all-conference selection, he led Nevada to four consecutive WAC regular-season titles and NCAA Tournament berths and is joined by Kyle Shiloh as the winningest player in school history with a 106-27 record in his four years at Nevada. Fazekas finished his career as Nevada’s all-time leader in scoring (2,464), blocked shots (192), field goals (901) and free throws made (546) and was second in career rebounding (1,254). He was just the sixth player in the history of NCAA basketball to score 2,000 points, pull down 1,000 rebounds, shoot 50 percent from the field and shoot 80 percent from the free throw line. Fazekas was the 34th pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks and saw time in the NBA with the Mavericks and the Los Angeles Clippers in 2007-08. He has played for the Toshiba Brave Thunders Kanagawa since 2012, earning league MVP honors and winning multiple championships.
#32 – Edgar Jones
Edgar Jones was a four-year starter for Nevada from 1975-76 and 1978-79. He finished his career as Nevada’s all-time leading scorer with 1,877 points in 101 games (18.6 points a game), a record he held until 2006 when All-American and fellow Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Nick Fazekas surpassed it. He still ranks third on the all-time rebounding list at 1,116 (11.1 per game) and fourth in career scoring. Jones also still holds the school single-season record with 3.6 blocks per game. He earned first team All-West Coast Athletic Conference honors in 1976-77 and second team accolades in 1975-76 and 1977-78. During his four years with the team, the Wolf Pack was 67-41, including a 21-7 record in 1978-79 when the team got a National Invitational Tournament bid. Jones was taken in the second round of the 1979 NBA Draft (31st overall) by the Milwaukee Bucks and spent five seasons in the league, playing for New Jersey, Detroit, San Antonio and Cleveland and participating in the 1984 Slam Dunk Contest. Jones had his number retired by Nevada following his senior season in 1979.
Baseball
#17 – Gary Powers
Longtime University of Nevada head baseball coach Gary Powers saw his No. 17 jersey number retired on May 9, 2014 at Peccole Park. Powers retired in 2013 after 31 years at the helm of the Wolf Pack baseball program, turning Nevada into one of the premier baseball programs in the West. He began his Nevada career in 1970-71 as a two-year starting pitcher for the Wolf Pack in 1970-71, setting then team records for appearances and innings pitched. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Nevada. In 1983, he was named the head coach at his alma mater and coached more years at Nevada than any other coach in school history. As a coach, he finished his career with a 937-762-5 career record, and his 937 wins ranked 21st among active coaches when he retired. A four-time conference coach of the Year, Powers led the Wolf Pack to four NCAA Regional Appearances (1994, 1997, 1999 and 2000). He won a WAC championship, two Big West Conference titles and two Big West divisional championships and produced 17 All-Americans, 146 all-conference honorees and six conference players of the year. He also saw 79 of his players drafted by Major League Baseball.
