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Where Beavers Gather75 years of Gill Coliseum.

By Kip Carlson

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For Mary (Ayotte) Law, ’82, it’s a sensation she can’t shake. “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. A football 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, 10,200-seat 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 “Slats” Gill. It was his popular winning teams, after all, that helped spur the need for a larger arena.

The coliseum’s first event, a concert by the Vienna Boys Choir, was on Nov. 18, 1949, when the building was still under construction. The first athletic event was Oregon State’s 53-41 win over Utah in men’s basketball on Dec. 16, 1949. “Those who were here for the dedication game were astonished by the size and comfort of this massive arena,” wrote Don McLeod of The Oregonian, noting it compared favorably with the “ultra-modern emporiums” Madison Square Garden and the Kansas City Municipal Auditorium.

8 Quick Facts:

The number 1

Groundbreaking Date:

June 5, 1948

The number 2

Construction Completed:

June 1950

The number 3

Cost:

$1,800,000 ($23,800,000 in 2024 dollars)

The number 4

Capacities:

10,200 (when it opened); 9,301 (now)

The number 5

First Athletic Event:

Men’s basketball game (Oregon State 53, Utah 41) on Dec. 16, 1949

The number 6

First Event:

Vienna Boys Choir concert on Nov. 18, 1949

The number 7

Biggest Crowd:

11,709 for men’s basketball (Oregon State 82, Oregon 66) on Feb. 3, 1962

The number 8

Namesake:

Amory T. “Slats” Gill was an Oregon State men’s basketball player from 1922 to 1924, men’s basketball head coach from 1928 to 1964 and Oregon State’s athletic director from 1964 until his death in 1966

The Scene of the Action

The initial events foreshadowed the wide variety of athletic and non-athletic events that would soon be available for Oregon State students, the Corvallis community and even wider audiences. Gill was the spot for Oregon State graduations from 1950 through 2000, as well as the annual Beta Theta Pi Turtle Derby from the 1960s into the 1980s. In 1957, the university constructed KOAC’s first TV studios in the building. The Horner Museum, a collection of curiosities from around the world, was housed in Gill’s basement from 1950 until 1995. The Oregon State Junior-Senior Prom was held there during the 1950s and 1960s. 

It was [Coach Gill’s] popular winning teams, after all, that helped spur the need for a larger arena.


Native American students organize an annual powwow — now in its 45th year — at the site. It’s been host to concerts ranging from Marian Anderson to the Grateful Dead to Garth Brooks to military bands; a Model United Nations convention; interfraternity/sorority and all-campus group singing competitions; high school graduations; Corvallis-OSU Symphony performances; high school state tournaments in basketball, wrestling and volleyball; and speakers including Richard Nixon, Robert Kennedy, Jesse Jackson, Alex Haley and Ogden Nash.

Gill has provided a forum for not just speeches but also social change and awareness. On Feb. 25, 1969, at a time of racial tension on campus and around the nation, Oregon State alumnus and two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling was delivering an OSU Centennial Lecture in Gill when OSU’s Black Student Union staged a “walk-in.” With Pauling and OSU President James Jensen on the dais, approximately 70 students approached the stage. Eventually, football player Rich Harr and BSU President Mike Smith were allowed to speak to a crowd estimated at 6,000 about discrimination in student rights, housing and social activities, according to the next day’s Daily Barometer.

In December 1970, Oregon State students took to the court during a basketball game against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-affiliated Brigham Young University. The protesters urged OSU to join other schools in stopping competition with BYU because of the church’s policy of not allowing Black men into the priesthood. In 2015, a Students of Color Speak Out event invited students, faculty and community members to share their experiences with racism on campus and in Corvallis.

Big and Little OSU Moments

Other visits to Gill were for reasons more mundane. Until class registration became computer-based, it was held in Gill Coliseum, with students scurrying from instructor to instructor to secure their classes.

Sometimes academics took over the coliseum at the end of a term: Tony Vandermeer, ’82, remembers the sections of his freshman chemistry class being so large that the final exam was held in Gill.

“I remember the basketball team coming out in the middle of our finals to practice,” Vandermeer said. “I could have sworn I saw Ray Blume sitting down there laughing at us getting stuck taking the final while he got to go play basketball.”

Most Beavers have more than one vivid memory from Gill. Larry Landis, former director of OSU’s Special Collections and Archives Research Center, remembers when OSU men’s basketball player Earnest Killum Jr., a highly regarded sophomore guard, died suddenly on Jan. 20, 1992, from a stroke. His memorial service was held in Gill a few days later and, according to the Daily Barometer, was attended by about 1,500 people. “It was a very moving service,” Landis said, “and having only been at OSU for a year, I was very impressed with this outpouring of both sympathy and support.”


TURN UP THE VOLUME

Here’s a partial list of entertainers who performed at Gill Coliseum over the years, from crooners to comics.

1950: Marian Anderson, Nelson Eddy1971: The Constellations, Dionne Warwick, The Temptations1990: Clint Black, Lorrie Morgan
1953: Spike Jones, Arthur Rubinstein, Woody Herman1972: Rare Earth, Manassas, Little River Band1991: Alabama
1957: Mantovani1973: Blood, Sweat & Tears1992: Kenny Rogers, Garth Brooks, George Strait
1958: Les Elgart1974: B.B. King, Fleetwood Mac, Triumvirat1994: Sawyer Brown, Diamond Rio
1963: Victor Borge1975: Gordon Lightfoot, Country Joe McDonald,  Loggins and Messina, Stephen Stills1998: Meredith Brooks, Floater
1964: The Smothers Brothers, Henry Mancini, Johnny Mathis1977: Wendy Waldman, Al Stewart, Jimmy Buffett1999: Sugar Ray, Orgy
1965: New Christy Minstrels1978: Eddie Money, Heart, Pablo Cruise, Darryl Hall & John Oates2000: Ani DiFranco, Greg Brown, Bill Cosby, Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall
1966: The Beach Boys1979: Little River Band, The Knack2001: The Wallflowers, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Bob Dylan
1967: The Doors, Bob Hope1983: Willie Nelson, The Tubes2002: Wayne Brady
1968: Mint Tattoo, The Grateful Dead, Simon & Garfunkel, Lou Rawls1985: Huey Lewis and The News, Toto, Howard Jones2003: Jay Leno, David Spade
1969: Peter, Paul and Mary, The 5th Dimension1987:  Gordon Lightfoot, Jay Leno2004: Rita Rudner, Drew Carey’s Improv All-Stars
1970: The Grateful Dead, Neil Diamond, Country Joe and the Fish, The Youngbloods, Steve Miller Band, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Jethro Tull, The 5th Dimension1989: Nu Shooz

In the mid-2000s, OSU organizations that had brought big-name entertainers to Gill began focusing their resources on other activities, and the heyday of Gill performances came to an end.


Haynes participated in IFC Sings at Gill and camped out for tickets to a Peter, Paul and Mary concert in 1969. Later, as senior class president in 1972, he got to introduce singer and actress Helen Reddy to the crowd. “I saw Karen Carpenter when the Carpenters came,” Haynes said. “I saw the Temptations. All those things you can go back to in your mind.”

Marc Andresen, who attended OSU from 1967-69, remembers that after the Peter, Paul and Mary concert, the singing trio sat in the bleachers to talk with students. This wasn’t long after the group’s Paul Stookey had embraced Christianity, “so when he comes out and he’s talking about that with the students,” Andresen said, “it shocked the heck out of us because it hadn’t gone public … that was pretty cool.”

Andresen, later a pastor of Calvin Presbyterian Church in Corvallis, recalled 27 local churches combining to rent Gill for a service on Easter Sunday in 2000; they estimated the attendance at about 10,000 and the offering collection of approximately $60,000 went to local charities. “I was profoundly moved to watch the place fill up,” Andresen said.

GAME ON

Here are some of Gill Coliseum’s most memorable moments in athletics.

1949–50
Men’s Basketball

On Dec. 16, Oregon State defeats Utah 53-41 in the first-ever game at Gill Coliseum. The Beavs take the win in front of 5,694 fans in the still-unfinished building.

1954–55
Men’s Basketball

San Francisco beats Oregon State 57-56 in the NCAA West Regional final as a last-second shot by the Beavs misses in front of 11,206 fans. The Dons go on to win the NCAA title. (See a video of the game.)

1960–61
Wrestling

Oregon State hosts the NCAA Wrestling Championships —the first school west of the Rockies to do so — and OSU 167-pounder Don Conway wins a national title. OSU places fourth.

1961–62
Men’s Basketball

The largest crowd in Gill Coliseum history — 11,709 — wedges itself into the building to watch Oregon State beat Oregon 82-66.

1963–64
Men’s Basketball

Oregon State pounds two-time defending NCAA champion Cincinnati 82-61, toppling the nation’s No. 4-ranked team before a crowd of 10,597.

1971–72
Wrestling

Oregon State heavyweight Jim Hagen takes on Iowa State’s Chris Taylor, a 400-pounder who
would be that summer’s Olympic bronze medalist. Hagen is beaten in a match that attracts nearly 10,000 fans.

1973–74
Men’s Basketball

Oregon State ends No. 1 UCLA’s 59-game Pacific-8 win streak with a 61-57 win in front of 10,376 fans. Later that season, Oregon Head Coach Dick Harter trips OSU cheerleader Rick Coutin as he carries the Chancellor’s Trophy past Oregon’s bench near the end of the Beavers’ 81-74 win. (The coach later wrote Coutin an apology.)

1979–80
Men’s Basketball

Oregon State overcomes an 8-point deficit in the final two minutes — with no shot clock or 3-point shot at that time — to beat Arizona State 82-74 in overtime. It’s a key victory in OSU taking the first of three straight Pac-10 titles and ending UCLA’s string of 13 consecutive crowns.

1979–80
Wrestling

Oregon State again hosts the NCAA Championships. Beaver heavyweight Howard Harris wins the national title, earning a 46-0 record with 40 pins for the season. Harris wins the meet’s Most Outstanding Wrestler award, having pinned all his opponents in the national meet. OSU places ninth.

1989–90
Men’s Basketball

Gary Payton scores 58 points against Southern California in a 98-94 double-overtime win — one of wildest games ever at Gill. The Beavers trailed by 22 points in the first half. Two days later, OSU beats UCLA 83-74 in Payton’s home finale.

1990
Gymnastics

Oregon State hosts the NCAA Championships, and Joy Selig wins national titles in both the balance beam and floor exercise. OSU places seventh.

1991–92
Women’s Basketball

Oregon State upsets No. 3 Stanford 75-69 in front of an audience of 572.

1993
Gymnastics

Oregon State again hosts the NCAA Championship and Amy Durham wins the floor exercise national title. The Beavers place fourth.

2000
Football

In January 2001, a rally celebrating Oregon State’s Pac-10 co-champion and Fiesta Bowl champion football team draws a near-capacity crowd to Gill.

2009
Volleyball

Oregon State beats No. 7-ranked Oregon in five sets — 25-21, 21-25, 10-25, 25-22, 16-14 — in front of a record crowd of 3,576.

2017
Volleyball

Oregon State upsets No. 10-ranked Washington 26-24, 25-20, 21-25, 19-25, 15-13.

2018–19
Women’s Basketball

No.12 Oregon State knocks off No. 2 Oregon 67-62 in front of record crowd of 9,301 and a national television audience, snapping a 17-game Duck winning streak that was the longest in the nation.

2022–23
Wrestling

With the lure of a strong team and a big-name opponent, Oregon State Wrestling attracts its largest crowd in decades, drawing 6,764 for a dual meet with No. 12 Oklahoma State, losing 20-12. It starts a trend: The next year, 8,540 show up to watch the Beavers fall 36-3 to No. 1 Penn State.

2023
Gymnastics

No. 13 Oregon State upsets No. 4 Utah in front of a record crowd of 8,859, posting the second-highest score in program history at 197.950 as it ties for the Pac-12 regular season championship.

2023–24
Women’s Basketball

No. 11 Oregon State beats No. 9 UCLA 79-77 in a buzzer-beater as the teams trade the lead four times in the final seven seconds in front of a crowd of 8,525.

A member of OSU’s pep band, Andresen said Gill’s architecture facilitated one of the band’s routines. The group split in half, with one group going upstairs and one downstairs. Playing, one half entered single file through one tunnel and exited through another; as soon as the last member left, the other half would enter through another tunnel, continuing the tune.

Filling Gill

That was still part of the band’s antics in the late 1970s and early 1980s — the heyday of the Orange Express. There were 71 straight regular season crowds of at least 10,000 from the 1978-79 season into the 1984-85 season. With their seating limited to the north balcony, students camped on the ramps to get the best seats. (See a 1981 Ralph Miller Show clip about the ramps below.)

Video by News and Communication Services Motion Picture Films and Videotapes (FV 057:174), Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University Libraries

Once inside, those 10,000-plus people made their presence felt.

“The volume of the fans during that era of men’s basketball — it was loud, it was so loud,” Law said. “It was just so much fun. And, of course, the basketball was so phenomenal and fun to watch.” (Get a taste of the sensory overload in a video from 1982.)

Law compared it to the current atmosphere at Beaver women’s basketball games. Gill, she said, plays a big part in that: “When you walk in Gill, it’s like it’s a family. There’s people [seated] on the floor. You walk in and it’s just this kind of warm family feeling that we’re in this together,” she said. “If you’re a fan, you’re a competitor, whatever — you’re part of this.”

Gill’s appeal goes beyond Oregon Staters. After OSU beat Oregon in a nationally televised women’s basketball game in 2019, broadcaster Kara Lawson tweeted, “Gill, you stole my ❤! If you’re a fan of hoop, you HAVE to check out that place.”

After 75 years, Oregon Staters’ rumpus room remains a classic.

“I’m really glad that it’s still there,” Law said. “And I hope it will always be.”


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