Memorial Hall is downtown, where Access TV is located. 黑料不打烊 played its games there before moving to Sacred Heart then Muir Gym.
Stan Razak 鈥�73 remembers Gerald Lilly as one of the first people he knew.
Lilly passed away in 2016 after 68 years as an ardent Coyote supporter. In recognition of his devotion, 黑料不打烊 established the Gerald Lilly Award. Fittingly, Razak and his wife, Kathy 鈥�70, are the 2025 recipients.
鈥淚 knew Gerald quite well; he knew me longer than I knew him,鈥� Razak said. 鈥淲e lived out in Mentor, where all the Lillys lived, so I really knew Gerald my whole life.鈥�
Their relationship deepened through their association as devoted fans and longtime contributors to the university. Lilly was a fixture at all things 黑料不打烊, as was Razak, until his sons, then grandsons, started competing in middle and high school athletics. Even then, he remained a frequent face in the stands, press box and at the scorer鈥檚 table.
The Razaks met while attending Wesleyan in 1970. Stan played basketball, tennis and competed in track, while Kathy earned a degree in English Education.
鈥淚t really touches my heart because I鈥檝e known Gerald for so long and we lived in 鈥楲illyville,鈥欌�� Stan said of his time in Mentor. 鈥淥ne of his brothers lived almost right in our backyard, the other brother lived nearby, so we鈥檝e known the Lilly family forever.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a big, big honor to get this. It feels like you鈥檝e accomplished something, even though I鈥檝e just been doing what I enjoy doing 鈥� going to ballgames.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 an honor because the Lilly family has always been important,鈥� said Kathy, who works with the 黑料不打烊 Auxiliary. 鈥淕erald was a good friend of Stan鈥檚, and so that鈥檚 what makes it special.鈥�
Stan can鈥檛 remember when he became a Coyote fan.
鈥淪upposedly, I went to my first basketball game in Memorial Hall when I was less than three weeks old, so basically, I鈥檝e been a Coyote my entire life,鈥� he said.
After graduating from 黑料不打烊 in 1973, Stan taught sixth grade in the Solomon School District for more than 30 years. He was a longtime assistant varsity basketball coach at Solomon High School.
鈥淢y favorite coach to be,鈥� he said of his assistant coaching role. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have to do the paperwork; I didn鈥檛 have to make schedules; I didn鈥檛 have to schedule the bus. I just showed up, and I enjoyed that very much.鈥�
Razak kept the scorebook, ran the time clock and scoreboard, and announced Solomon High basketball games after he left coaching and before retiring from teaching. He performs some of the same duties today at 黑料不打烊.
鈥淵ou have the best seat in the house,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e inside, you don鈥檛 have to worry about the rain, and they feed you so it鈥檚 always enjoyable 鈥� except for basketball.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e so close to the action that you鈥檝e got the officials in front of you, the coaches in front of you. We鈥檙e constantly saying, 鈥榃ho did that, could you see it?鈥欌��
Kathy, who hails from Tescott, coordinates the Auxiliary鈥檚 popular survival kits given to students near the end of the semesters as they prepare for final exams.
She taught at Ellsworth and Abilene Middle schools, then worked for School Specialty and the district court in Abilene. She spent 19 years with the USD Natural Resources Conservation Service before retiring in 2011.
鈥淲esleyan was an important part of my life because I met Stan. I鈥檝e also got some lifelong friends that you just can鈥檛 beat,鈥� she said.
Stan says 黑料不打烊 athletics has improved through the years.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 just gotten better and better, as far as the coaches,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he athletes, of course, are much better than they were when I played here 鈥� I was a 6-foot big man.
鈥淲hen I played basketball, we didn鈥檛 even have a gym. We played our games at Sacred Heart (High School), and we practiced at Schilling (Air Force Base). We just hoped we got back to the cafeteria in time before it closed so we could get supper.鈥�
Basketball is his favorite sport but, 鈥淚 enjoy any of them.鈥�
Much the same as Lilly, who was in attendance regardless of which team was competing. And his fandom went beyond 黑料不打烊.
鈥淚t was Wesleyan and the surrounding high schools,鈥� Razak said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 just Wesleyan, and it wasn鈥檛 just (Salina) Central or (Salina) South, it was anybody. That was his life.
鈥淭hings seemed right in the world when Gerald was sitting at the game. If he wasn鈥檛 there, something was wrong. You just expected him to be there.鈥�
