Opening in October of 1980, Willett Hall then named Lancer Hall featured many amenities to increase the quality of campus life at Longwood College. These amenities included a pool, dance studio, classrooms, and the all-important gym that served as the home of the Longwood Lancers. Sitting on Pine Street, which at the time ran straight through campus, it became an integral part of the campus. As campus has grown and changed, Lancer Hall, now known as Willett Hall, has grown with it.
However, Willett’s impact doesn’t simply come from a name (either Lancer or Willett), or its place in the heart of campus. Instead, the memories from over forty years of basketball games, Kinesiology, swimming, naps during yoga classes, a Vice Presidential Debate, and countless other events make it all the more special to the Longwood Community.
In its first year on campus, Lancer Hall was put on the map by Freshman Jerome Kersey, who led the men’s basketball team to victory over the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore. Kersey’s legacy looms large over campus, having been drafted out of Longwood by the Portland Trail Blazers in 1984. He would go on to win an NBA championship in 1999 with the San Antonio Spurs and play seventeen seasons in the NBA. He accomplished all of this before his graduation from Longwood, as he completed his degree requirements 22 years later in 2006. In 2016, the court he dominated would be posthumously named in his honor.
However, Willett’s history with Longwood basketball does not end with Jerome Kersey. In 2021-22, Willett served as the home of the Lancers as they fought their way through the Big South and into March Madness, making Longwood’s first dance in the tournament. With the hall packed on 2022’s Selection Sunday, Longwood’s name was announced before the nation and went on to compete in Indianapolis against Tennessee.
While an essential part of campus life, basketball isn’t all Willett is known for. In fact, one of Longwood’s most monumental moments occurred just over six years ago in 2016. Longwood was awarded the 2016 Vice Presidential Debate, which saw Virginia Senator Tim Kaine squaring off against Indiana Governor (and eventual Vice President) Mike Pence. Willett was transformed into a debate hall with a spin room, seating, and stage.
Some other Willett moments range from hosting The Ramones in 1995, at the wish of Rotunda Editor-in-Chief Jennie Fennelle, to serving as a vaccination center as Longwood sought to fight the COVID-19 virus in the effort to get Lancers immunized in 2021.
As the hall was packed for the final time on February 25th, 2023, with current students, faculty, staff, and alumni alike, the memories and emotions rushed back as the Longwood Community sent its gratitude to the now-retired home of the Lancers. While Willett will remain as a practice and academic building, and Lancers will pack the soon-to-be-finished Joan Perry Brock Center next year, it won’t be quite the same without home basketball games in the same home they’ve had since 1980 in the days of Jerome Kersey.
Thank you, Willett. For the memories, fun times, learning, and entertainment you’ve provided us for over four decades.
