Lou Liay Spirit Award (Est. 1997)
Bestowed upon alumni by the University of Illinois Alumni Association on behalf of the University of Illinois. The award is presented to those who have consistently demonstrated extraordinary spirit and pride in support of the University, the Alumni Association, and related organizations, exemplifying a positive image of their Alma Mater while inspiring loyalty and pride in their fellow alumni. The award is named after Lou Liay, EDM ’62, executive director of the UI Alumni Association from 1983-1998.
Loren B. Tate, ’53 MEDIA
Loren B. Tate, ’53 MEDIA, has covered Fighting Illini athletics since 1966, when he became a sportswriter, columnist, and sports editor for Champaign’s News-Gazette. After earning his journalism degree from the U. of I. in 1953, he began a two-year stint in the U.S. Army (where he made the basketball team and led in scoring), before starting his newspaper career working for his stepfather at the Piatt County Republican in Monticello, Illinois.
From there, Tate covered local sports for the Hammond (Indiana) Times and also played semi-pro baseball. He hung up his cleats when he joined The News-Gazette.
At the Champaign paper, he became known and loved for his column “Tatelines” and as editor of one of the nation’s most respected local sports sections. Although technically retired for nearly three decades, he continues to work for the paper as a contract writer.
Tate also has a considerable radio broadcast career related to Illini sports. He provided color commentary for men’s basketball from 1968 to 2001, called football games for several years, and appears regularly on the local station WDWS to discuss the highs and lows of Illinois athletics.
Tate, whose books A Century of Orange and Blue (2004) and Tatelines (2008) are essentials for Illini sports fans, was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1974 and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame in 2021. A local legend, his Champaign-Urbana honors are legion, with one notable example: The street adjacent to the former News-Gazette building was named Loren Tate Way by the City of Champaign.
2025
Louis Margaglione, ’92 FAA
2024
David L. Clark, '77 ENG
2023
Mary Ellen Penicook, ’81 LAS, JD ’87
2022
James W. Fessler, ’85 LAS, JD ’88 LAW
Gene Honda
2020
Bob Lumsden, ’53 BUS
2019
Al Davis, ’60 ED, MS ’62 ED, ’64 ED
2018
Bob Giles, ’66 ENG, MBA ’68, and Pat Meyers Giles, ’69 ED
2017
JOHN VOLK, '67 ACES
2016
Dr. Kenneth Schmidt, ’65 LAS, MD ’67 UIC
2015
Gayl Pyatt, ’64 LAS
2014
Michael L. VanBlaricum, ’72 ENG, MS ’74 ENG, PHD ’76 ENG
2013
Edwin C. Lennox III, ’90 ENG, MS ’92 ENG, MS ’97 ENG
2012
Frederic G. Nearing, ’48 ENG
2011
Alan L. Puzey, ’74 ACES
2010
Samuel N. Darby, ’62 FAA
2009
John Menees, ’52 ENG
2008
Denis Lougeay, '66 ENG, MBA '68
Denruth Barre Lougeay, '65 ED, EDM '68
2007
Norman Beasley, ’58 DSSWV
Mary Jane Beasley
2006
John S. Ellison, ’64 ACES
2005
Carol Keiser Long, '68 ACES
2004
David G. Powless, '75 BUS
2003
Marie L. Johnson, '54 LAS, MS '58 ED
2002
Dan Perrino, '48 FAA, MS '49 FAA
2001
Larry L. Fischer, '74 ACES
1998
William Branom, '54 MEDIA
Henrietta Branom Knecht, '27 LAS
