I'm mixed on the retiring of numbers. Yes, it's respectful, but it's also nice to hear the announcers mention the great players who wore that number during the game. It helps keep their memory alive.
I would be more in favor of a gold outline of the number 26. Like a special jersey that only 1 player can wear. It could be used as a recruiting ploy and be taken away or given to a player during the season.
Or we could be the first school to have numbers go over 100 because we had so many greats with retired numbers that we need more numbers. Trend setting!