Beasley Coliseum
Encyclopedia
Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena
, in Pullman, Washington
, on the campus of Washington State University
. The arena opened in 1973 and is named for Wallis Beasley, a long-time WSU sociology
professor, executive vice president and interim president. Beasley was also WSU's faculty representative for athletics in the 1960s. The current seating capacity
is 11,566, for basketball.
The venue is home to both the Washington State Cougars
men's
and women's basketball
teams. The current men's basketball coach is Ken Bone
, and the current women's basketball coach is June Daugherty
.
It replaced Bohler Gymnasium
which is now home to Cougar volleyball
.
Located on the east side of campus, the building includes Friel Court, the name of the basketball playing surface honoring Jack Friel
. Friel was the longtime head coach of the WSU men's basketball team, leading the Cougars to 495 victories over 30 years. (He was also the first commissioner of the Big Sky Conference
, originally based in Pullman from 1963-71).
The building's full name reflects the fact that it is used not only for concerts, big-name speakers, dinners, and Commencement, but also for basketball as mentioned above. Seating capacities for concerts range from 2,500 in a theater configuration to 9,000 in an end-stage configuration and 12,000 in the round.
The Coliseum's Hall of Fame -- famous entertainers who have performed there -- include comedians such as Bob Hope
, Bill Cosby
, Jay Leno
and Whoopi Goldberg
and musical stars or shows such as The 5th Dimension, Tony Orlando and Dawn
, Stevie Wonder
, Bob Dylan
, Elton John
, Def Leppard
, Metallica
, Metal Church
, Van Halen
, Dana Carvey
, Drew Carrey, Montgomery Gentry
, Bill Engvall
, Howie Mandel
, Grease
& Cats
. The Harlem Globetrotters
have performed there five times.
Beasley Coliseum hosted the sub-regionals of the 1982 NCAA basketball tournament, from which Oregon State
and Palouse
neighbor Idaho
advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
The coliseum has been the venue, for many years, for the Great Performances series, organized by Festival Dance and Performing Arts Association, of neighboring Moscow, Idaho
.
Overflow crowds attended lectures by Noam Chomsky
on April 22, 2005, and by Jane Goodall
on March 8, 2007.
On March 6, 2010, the arena hosted a WWE SmackDown house show
.
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
, in Pullman, Washington
Pullman, Washington
Pullman is the largest city in Whitman County, Washington, United States. The population was 24,675 at the 2000 census and 29,799 according to the 2010 census...
, on the campus of Washington State University
Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
. The arena opened in 1973 and is named for Wallis Beasley, a long-time WSU sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
professor, executive vice president and interim president. Beasley was also WSU's faculty representative for athletics in the 1960s. The current seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
is 11,566, for basketball.
The venue is home to both the Washington State Cougars
Washington State Cougars
The Washington State Cougars are the athletic teams at Washington State University; the term applies to any of the school's varsity teams. Washington State University is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference, which participates in the NCAA Division I...
men's
Washington State Cougars men's basketball
The Washington State Cougars Men's Basketball team represents Washington State University and competes in the Pacific-12 Conference of NCAA Division I...
and women's basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
teams. The current men's basketball coach is Ken Bone
Ken Bone
-Coaching career:Bone graduated from Seattle Pacific University in 1983. He was an assistant coach at Shorecrest HS in Shoreline, WA and Cal State Stanislaus before returning to Seattle Pacific as an assistant coach in 1986, becoming the head coach in 1990...
, and the current women's basketball coach is June Daugherty
June Daugherty
June Daugherty is an American women's college basketball coach at Washington State University. She was previously the head coach at Boise State University from 1989-1996 and the University of Washington from 1997-2007 and has a career record of 314-213...
.
It replaced Bohler Gymnasium
Bohler Gymnasium
Bohler Gymnasium is a 3,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Pullman, Washington. It opened in 1928. It was home to the Washington State University Cougars basketball teams until the Beasley Coliseum opened in 1973. It is currently home to the volleyball teams....
which is now home to Cougar volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
.
Located on the east side of campus, the building includes Friel Court, the name of the basketball playing surface honoring Jack Friel
Jack Friel
John B. "Jack" Friel was an American basketball coach who was the head coach of the Washington State University men's basketball team from 1928 to 1958...
. Friel was the longtime head coach of the WSU men's basketball team, leading the Cougars to 495 victories over 30 years. (He was also the first commissioner of the Big Sky Conference
Big Sky Conference
The Big Sky Conference is an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I, with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. The BSC was founded in 1963. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the states of Arizona,...
, originally based in Pullman from 1963-71).
The building's full name reflects the fact that it is used not only for concerts, big-name speakers, dinners, and Commencement, but also for basketball as mentioned above. Seating capacities for concerts range from 2,500 in a theater configuration to 9,000 in an end-stage configuration and 12,000 in the round.
The Coliseum's Hall of Fame -- famous entertainers who have performed there -- include comedians such as Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
, Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
, Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
and Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
and musical stars or shows such as The 5th Dimension, Tony Orlando and Dawn
Tony Orlando and Dawn
Tony Orlando and Dawn was a pop music group that was popular in the 1970s. Their signature hits include "Candida", "Knock Three Times", "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree", and "He Don't Love You ".-History:...
, Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
, Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, Metal Church
Metal Church
Metal Church was an American heavy metal band. They originally formed in Seattle, Washington as Shrapnel in 1980. Their first album was released in 1984, and the band's most recent work, This Present Wasteland, was released in 2008....
, Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
, Dana Carvey
Dana Carvey
Dana Thomas Carvey is an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for playing the role of Garth in the Wayne's World movies.-Early life:...
, Drew Carrey, Montgomery Gentry
Montgomery Gentry
Montgomery Gentry is an American country music duo composed of vocalists Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry. The two began performing in the 1990s as part of a band which also included Eddie Montgomery's brother John Michael Montgomery, and founded the existing duo in 1999.Signed to Columbia Records,...
, Bill Engvall
Bill Engvall
William Ray "Bill" Engvall, Jr. is an American comedian and actor best known for his work as a stand-up comic and as a member of the Blue Collar Comedy group.-Early life:Bill Engvall was born in Galveston, Texas...
, Howie Mandel
Howie Mandel
Howard Michael "Howie" Mandel is a Canadian stand-up comedian, television host, and actor. He is well known as host of the NBC game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts. Before his career as a game show host, Mandel was best known for his role on...
, Grease
Grease (musical)
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...
& Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
. The Harlem Globetrotters
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...
have performed there five times.
Beasley Coliseum hosted the sub-regionals of the 1982 NCAA basketball tournament, from which Oregon State
Oregon State Beavers men's basketball
The Oregon State Beavers men's basketball program, established in 1901, is the intercollegiate men's basketball program of the Oregon State University Beavers. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Pacific-12 Conference. The team is coached by Craig...
and Palouse
Palouse
The Palouse is a region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of southeastern Washington, north central Idaho and, in some definitions, extending south into northeast Oregon. It is a major agricultural area, primarily producing wheat and legumes...
neighbor Idaho
Idaho Vandals
The Idaho Vandals are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Idaho. They participate in NCAA Division I - FBS in the Western Athletic Conference ....
advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
The coliseum has been the venue, for many years, for the Great Performances series, organized by Festival Dance and Performing Arts Association, of neighboring Moscow, Idaho
Moscow, Idaho
Moscow is a city in northern Idaho, situated along the Washington/Idaho border. It is the most populous city and county seat of Latah County and the home of the University of Idaho, the land grant institution and primary research university for the state...
.
Overflow crowds attended lectures by Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
on April 22, 2005, and by Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall
Dame Jane Morris Goodall, DBE , is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National...
on March 8, 2007.
On March 6, 2010, the arena hosted a WWE SmackDown house show
House show
A house show is a professional wrestling show run by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive during televised events, as well as test reactions to matches, wrestlers, and...
.