The past few weeks have been an exciting time for NBA fans as Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors started their season on a historical undefeated streak. Curry, the reigning MVP of the league, has been masterful through twenty-plus games, and while his ability is, without a doubt, somewhat innate (him being the son of former player Del Curry and all), he has clearly worked on his game tirelessly to get to this point. Many remember it was not too long ago that Curry was leading another team–the Davidson Wildcats–on a Cinderella run in the NCAA tournament. Watching him then, even the most optimistic of fans wouldn’t have thought Curry would develop into arguably the greatest player on the planet, and his success has helped bring attention to the small North Carolina school he attended.
To wit, Davidson was in the sporting world news this past week, and once again Curry was the subject of the story. The Wildcats have decided not to retire their most famous player’s number until after he finishes his degree, as Curry left school early for the NBA draft and has credits remaining to complete. This has started a conversation surrounding different schools’ policies about retiring numbers, which seems to be a surprising grey area in many athletic departments. Whereas athletic departments typically seek firm and clear stances regarding all their practices, how and when universities retire numbers remains murky.
Quick research reveals that not only are standards for number retirement inconsistent, but so to are the ways numbers of former greats are treated. While some schools simply remove a particular number from circulation, that is, no one can wear the number again, this creates an issue for rosters that can sometimes near 100. Instead, many schools do not retire numbers (for example, Alabama football supposedly has not officially “retired” any), but “revere” them, setting them aside for players that meet certain qualifications, like senior captains or offensive or defensive standouts, or have been deemed worthy by a coaching staff. Receiving a particular number in systems like this theoretically memorializes past greats, allows for a staff to honor a current player, and keeps numbers in circulation.
Regarding Davidson’s decision to require its student-athletes to complete their degrees before being honored with a retired number, Curry says he was well aware of the importance of academics at the school: “I knew what I signed up for when I went to Davidson. I made a promise to coach [Bob] McKillop and my family that when I left school back in ’09 that that would be accomplished — and it will be soon.”
Whether or not this is a requirement other schools follow, however, is a bit unclear as some athletic departments aren’t even sure what the athletic requirement should be. For example, at the University of Texas, the previous standard of being the national player of the year in a given sport seems to be lacking, as certain awards were not in existence when collegiate greats were playing. As a result, the timing, selectors, and requirements for number retirement at UT still appear to be unsettled, which is a bit surprising considering the tremendous value of its athletic programs.
Davidson took an important stand for the academic portion of student-athletes’ time in college, and Steph Curry knows and appreciates it. Here’s hoping that as other schools look at and clarify their own practices and requirements regarding number retirement and reverence, they also choose to put an emphasis on the most important part of the university experience.
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