High school students in Reno in the 1860s were originally taught in the basement of a building on the corner of First and Virginia Streets, on the future site of the Mapes Hotel.

[2] In 1951, Reno High was relocated to new facilities, on 71 acres, the campus located on Booth and Foster Streets, just south of the Truckee River and near Idlewild Park.

Since 2003, the Reno High boys' sports varsity teams have won Nevada state championships in football, basketball, baseball, track and field, swimming, diving, tennis, and snow skiing.

On Friday, February 22, 2008, the Reno Huskies defeated Cheyenne High of Las Vegas 76 to 72, for their second state basketball championship in three seasons.

The 68 yard long field goal, which was kicked in a game at Sparks High School is the second-longest in organized American football at any class level, including the NFL, and was just short of Ove Johansson's 69-yard field goal in 1976, for NAIA college school Abilene Christian.

The lack of in person competition prompted the North Nevada Forensic League (NNFL) to cancel the usual sweepstakes, instead opting to have a "Covid Cup" for that year only.