| Evansville Purple Aces | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | University of Evansville |
| Conference | Missouri Valley Conference |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletic director | Dr. Kenneth "Ziggy" Siegfried |
| Location | Evansville, Indiana |
| Varsity teams | 18 |
| Basketball arena | Ford Center (men) Meeks Family Fieldhouse at Carson Center (women) |
| Baseball stadium | Charles H. Braun Stadium |
| Soccer stadium | Arad McCutchan Stadium |
| Mascot | Ace Purple |
| Nickname | Aces |
| Colors | Purple, white, and orange[1] |
| Website | gopurpleaces |
 | |
TheEvansville Purple Aces are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of theUniversity of Evansville, located inEvansville, Indiana. The Aces athletic program is a member of theMissouri Valley Conference[2] and competes at theNCAA'sDivision I level.[3] Evansville's mascot is Ace Purple, and the school colors are purple, white and orange.
Prior to joiningDivision I in 1977, the Aces were in theDivision II men's basketball championship tournaments 15 of 20 years and won the title in1959,1960,1964,1965, and1971.[4]
| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Basketball |
| Basketball | Cross country |
| Cross country | Golf |
| Golf | Soccer |
| Soccer | Softball |
| Swimming and diving | Swimming and diving |
| Track and field† | Track and field† |
| Volleyball | |
| † – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor | |
Moores Hill College moved to Evansville and became Evansville College in 1919. The athletics program was begun with the opening of the new campus.
A member of theMissouri Valley Conference, the University of Evansville sponsors teams in seven men's and nine women'sNCAA sanctioned sports.
The first officially sanctionedEvansville College baseball team was formed in 1924.John Harmon was hired as the firsthead coach of the then-Evansville College Pioneers. Their first game was againstBethel College, which led to a 5–4 Pioneers victory, marking their first in school history.
The Purple Aces have competed in theMissouri Valley Conference since 1995. The Purple Aces play all home games onGerman American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium. The team competed in twoNCAA Division II baseball tournaments before they started competing in Division I in 1995. Since then they have competed in fourNCAA Division I baseball tournaments and have won one regional championship.
Five players from the Purple Aces baseball team have appeared inMajor League Baseball:Andy Benes,Sal Fasano,Jamey Carroll,Kyle Freeland, andRob Maurer.
The University of Evansville athletics department was built upon a foundation of success in men'sbasketball. In the early years of the men's basketball program the Purple Aces appeared in theNAIA national tournament. The Purple Aces appeared 4 times in theNAIA Tournament (1941,1942,1951, and1955). The Purple Aces had a NAIA tournament record of 3–4. The furthest distance Evansville got in the NAIA tournaments was in third round (NAIA Quarterfinals) in 1951, only to lose toRegis University (Colo.) 70–68.[5]
Shortly after the 1955 season the Purple Aces would move up to the NCAA College Division, now calledNCAA Division II. The Evansville Purple Aces won five national championships in the NCAA College Division:1959,1960,1964,1965 (29–0 record) and1971. This ranks second all-time.
In 1977 UE began playing inNCAA Division I athletics. That same year on December 13, a charteredDC-3 carrying the entire UE basketball teamcrashed in a field near theEvansville Regional Airport en route to a game againstMiddle Tennessee State. Every member of the team and coaching staff on the plane was killed. Legendary Aces coachArad McCutchan, had retired after the previous season and was not on the plane. McCutchan was the first NCAA College Division coach selected to theNaismith Basketball Hall of Fame.[6] One player was not able to attend the game and thus was not on the plane; not long after the plane crash, however, the player who was not on the plane was killed in a car accident along with his younger brother.
Tremendous community support brought back the basketball program the next year.Brad Leaf played for the Evansville Purple Aces from 1979 to 1982, and was a co-captain in his last year.[7][8][9] As a sophomore, he set the then-Evansville season free throw percentage record at 81.1%.[10] In 1981–82, he led the school to its first NCAA Division I tournament.[11][12][9] He was the school's firstAll-American in NCAA Division I.[13][11] Leaf was 5th in school history infield goals (621), 6th infield goal percentage (52.2%), 7th in points (1,605), and 9th infree throws (363).[13]
Evansville was a charter member of theMidwest Collegiate Conference, now known as the Horizon League. The Aces won or shared the MCC regular season title in 1982, 1987, 1989, 1992, and 1993. They also won the conference tournament title in 1982, 1992, and 1993. The Aces are now a member of theMissouri Valley Conference, and won the 1999 regular season title.
The Purple Aces have made five trips to the NCAA Men's basketball tournament (1982,1989,1992,1993,1999),[14] two trips to the NIT (1988,1994),[15] three trips to theCollegeInsider.com (CIT) tournament (2009,2013, andChampions in 2015),[16] and two trips to theCollege Basketball Invitational (CBI) tournament (2011 and2012).[17]
On November 12, 2019, the Evansville team took down the #1 rankedUniversity of Kentucky basketball team in UK's home ofRupp Arena, gaining national and global prestige for the upset.
The University of Evansville women's basketball team (historically the Lady Aces, though now also known as Purple Aces) have made two trips to the NCAA basketball tournament (1999,2009).[18]
The University of Evansville first fielded a football team in 1898. Known early on as the 49ers, Evansville played in theNCAA College Division through 1975, after which they played as anNCAA Division III non-scholarship program. They were champions of theOhio Valley Conference in 1948 (shared withMorehead State) with a 6–3 (3–1 OVC) record and 1949 with an 8–2–1 (3–1–1 OVC) mark.
Following new NCAA regulations requiring university football and basketball teams to compete at the same division, Evansville became a charter member of thePioneer Football League (PFL), anNCAA Division I non-scholarship league. They remained PFL members until their shut down following the 1997 season. Citing financial difficulties and a belief that the PFL was not sustainable, the Purple Aces closed the doors on their football program after almost a century on the gridiron. Evansville's all-time record stands at 268–381–26.
Talk has existed since about 2007 about upgrading football again to a fully funded NCAA Division I team, but, after a year of investigation, the board of trustees voted against this in October 2012 as being too expensive.[19]
| Season | Game | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Refrigerator Bowl | Missouri Valley | W 13–7 |
| 1949 | Refrigerator Bowl | Hillsdale | W 22–7 |
| 1974 | NCAA Division III semifinal | Central (IA) | L 16–17 |
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