University at Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The legacy of the University at Buffalo's 1958 football team and their star running back lives on as the college announced the renaming of their former Porter quad.
A grand ceremony occurred Friday morning as the school announced the Porter Quad to be renamed the "Willie R. Evans Quadrangle," after Evans, the late UB student-athlete and longtime educator in the Buffalo Public Schools.
UB President Satish K. Tripathi said, "Billy not only exemplified our university mission, he left our UB community with an impactful legacy of service and provided us with a model for a meaningful life."
Evans, who was selected out of a list of 65 individuals, was a star running back and one of only two Black players on UB's historic 1958 football team that unanimously agreed to decline an invitation to the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando because Evans and teammate Mike Wilson would have been barred from playing.
Evans, who graduated from UB in 1960 with a bachelor's degree in physical education, also served as president of the UB Alumni Association and was the recipient of the Community Leadership Medal, the Distinguished Alumni Award, the Russell J. Gugino Award and, along with his football teammates, the Chancellor Charles P. Norton Medal, UB's highest honor.
Fred Kogurt, a former teammate of Willie echoed some of the sentiments that his teammates wanted to be said during this announcement, "Willie was a good guy, a hard worker. Willie was a consummate teammate. Willie was a hell of a player. Willie was a gentleman and a good friend. Willie was soft spoken. Willie was loyal to his team and to UB. Willie cared a great deal about his family. Willie was kind hearted and humble. Willie treated people with dignity and respect and really loved UB."
Willie's wife, Bobbie Evans shared many great stories of who Willie was as a person and how much he loved his school and where he worked. She was full of emotion walking up to the quad, "He was very proud of being part of the UB family, whatever he did, he never ever gave any thought that he would get anything in return for. He shared whatever time and talent he could. He did that with everything, with his church, with the Buffalo Public School system, and our entire family, friends, and of course, his wonderful teammates. I must say that being brought down the path here, I was overwhelmed seeing his name and it would have been nice if he would've been here as well."
See the player below for the full announcement:
