PREVIOUS PAGE: KARL MAASDAM, ’93 “When I walk into Gill Coliseum — and it can be empty — I hear people cheering for me,” said Law, a national champion OSU gymnast from 1978 to 1982. “I just have this vivid memory of hearing people cheering and clapping and being happy, and it rings in my ears. “There’s something about the way the sound of that happy cheering just kind of remains in there. It lives in there.” The silent shouts lingering amid steel girders could be for hundreds of Oregon State athletes throughout the decades, or for the wide range of events that have populated Gill Coliseum’s 75 years. If the Memorial Union lounge is Oregon State’s living room, then Gill Coliseum — or simply “Gill” to many — is its rumpus room. From basketball to bachelor’s degrees, turtle races to takedowns, dismounts to duets, the venerable arena has seen it all. This winter marks the diamond anniversary of the building’s opening in November 1949. “If other buildings have produced the same kind of usage that building has over 75 years, let’s bring them on,” said Erin Haynes,’72.Afootball player in his student days, Haynes witnessed more than 30 years’ worth of the coliseum’s activities, as he remained on campus until 2005, working in the OSU athletics department, admissions office, OSU Foundation and OSU Alumni Association. BuILDING BIGGER AND BEttER Oregon State broke ground in June 1948 for the $1.8 million, 10,200seat building. At the time, it was unusual for a structure of that size to have no interior posts blocking spectator views. The coliseum took over the role of Beaver gathering place from the old Men’s Gymnasium (now Langton Hall), which could seat only about 2,500. From the start, the building, officially known as the OSC Coliseum, was commonly referred to as Gill Coliseum in tribute to alumnus (class of 1924) and longtime men’s basketball coach Amory FOr MAry (AyOTTE) lAw, ’82, IT’S A SENSATION ShE CAN’T ShAKE.
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