The
Evansville Purple Aces represent the
University of EvansvilleThe University of Evansville is a small, private university with approximately 3,050 students located in Evansville, Indiana. Founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College, it is located near the interchange of the Lloyd Expressway and U.S. Route 41. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church...
in NCAA Division I sports.
Purple Aces and Ace Purple
The University of Evansville's nickname, the Aces, was acquired after an opposing coach cracked a joke after losing to the Evansville College Pioneers in the 1920s. Dan Scism, the sportswriter credited with first using the name 'Aces' in headlines, said he did so at the suggestion of basketball coach John Harmon in 1926. "Prior to that the Aces had been called Pioneers," Scism said, "but Coach Harmon suggested I call them the Aces because he was told by Louisville's coach that he didn't have four aces up his sleeve, he had five!"
Forty years after Aces came into being, mascot 'Ace Purple' was created by
Evansville Press artist Larry Hill. Ace Purple is a turn-of-the century
riverboatA riverboat is a ship built boat designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury units constructed for entertainment enterprises, such...
gambler, appropriate since Evansville is located on the banks of the
Ohio RiverThe Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
. However, the first Ace Purple was a rough, mean-looking character who did not go over well with Aces' fans. Artist Keith Butz softened 'Ace' in 1977 into a smiling, friendly figure who remains popular with young and old alike.
Intercollegiate teams
UE athletics now include 14 NCAA Division I varsity sports, eight for women and six for men. They include women's
tennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, men's and women's
cross countryCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, men's and women's
golfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, men's and women's
basketballBasketball 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...
, men's and women's
swimmingSwimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
&
divingDiving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
, men's and women's soccer,
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
,
softballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
, and women's
volleyballVolleyball 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...
.
Baseball
Four players from the Purple Aces baseball team have appeared in
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
:
Andy BenesAndrew Charles Benes is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. During a 14-year career from 1989-2002. Benes played for four different teams: the San Diego Padres, the Seattle Mariners, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Arizona Diamondbacks...
,
Sal FasanoSalvatore Frank Fasano is a former Major League Baseball catcher who is currently the manager of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the Double A Eastern League, a Minor League affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system. He is known to many for his famous Horseshoe moustache.Jeff Pearlman...
,
Jamey CarrollJamey Blake Carroll is an American professional baseball infielder for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball.Carroll was born in Evansville, Indiana. In 1992, he graduated from Castle High School in Newburgh, Indiana. He later attended and graduated from the University of Evansville...
, and
Rob MaurerRobert John Maurer is a retired Major League Baseball first baseman,Maurer attended Mater Dei High School in Evansville, Indiana and the University of Evansville, where he played for the Evansville Purple Aces baseball team....
.
Men's Basketball
The University of Evansville athletics department was built upon a foundation of success in men's
basketballBasketball 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...
. In the early years of the men's basketball program the Purple Aces appeared in the
NAIAThe National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
national tournament. The Purple Aces appeared 4 times in the
NAIA TournamentThe National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Men's Basketball National Championship has been held annually since 1937 . The tournament was established by James Naismith to crown a national champion for smaller colleges and universities...
(
1941The 1941 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 5th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format . The third time was the charm for the Aztecs of San Diego State...
,
1942The 1942 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 6th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format ....
,
1951The 1951 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 14th Annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format . The championship game featured Hamline University and Millikin University ....
, and
1955The 1955 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 18th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format . The 1955 tournament was one for the record books...
). 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 to
Regis University (Colo.)Regis University is a private, co-educational Roman Catholic, Jesuit university in the United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1877, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
70-68 .
Shortly after the 1955 season the Purple Aces would move up to the NCAA College Division, now called NCAA Division II. The Purple Aces would have much better success in their new division. Winning national championships in
1959The 1959 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball as a culmination of the 1958-59 NCAA Division II men's basketball season...
,
1960The 1960 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball as a culmination of the 1959-60 NCAA Division II men's basketball season...
,
1964The 1964 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball as a culmination of the 1963-4 NCAA Division II men's basketball season...
,
1965The 1965 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball as a culmination of the 1964-5 NCAA Division II men's basketball season...
and
1971The 1971 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball as a culmination of the 1970-1 NCAA Division II men's basketball season...
. The team was led by legendary coach
Arad McCutchanArad A. McCutchan was a well-known collegiate basketball coach. The Evansville, Indiana native coached his hometown University of Evansville from 1946 to 1977, guiding the Purple Aces to a 515-313 record....
from 1946 to 1977 who led the Purple Aces to a 515-313 record.
In 1977 UE began playing in NCAA Division I athletics. That same year on December 13, a chartered DC-3 carrying the entire UE basketball team crashed in a field near the
Evansville Regional AirportEvansville Regional Airport is a public airport located three miles north of the central business district of Evansville, a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. This airport is publicly owned by Evansville/Vanderburgh Airport Authority.It provides nearly 30 daily flights to and...
en route to a game against
Middle Tennessee StateMiddle Tennessee State University, commonly abbreviated as MTSU, is a public university located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States....
. Every member of the team and coaching staff on the plane was killed. 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. To remember that team, Memorial Plaza stands in the middle of campus between Olmsted Administration Hall and the site of the new University Center, crowned by a fountain with the names engraved. Additionally engraved is the following inscription: "Out of the agony of this hour we will rise." Middle Tennessee and Evansville eventually had their first meeting on November 24, 2010.
Tremendous community support brought back the basketball program the next year, and in the relatively short time at the Division I level, the Purple Aces have made five trips to the NCAA Men's basketball tournament (
1982The 1982 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1982, and ended with the championship game on March 29 in New Orleans, Louisiana...
,
1989The 1989 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 1989, and ended with the championship game on April 3 in Seattle, Washington...
,
1992The 1992 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 19, 1992, and ended with the championship game on April 6 in Minneapolis, Minnesota...
,
1993The 1993 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 1993, and ended with the championship game on April 5 in New Orleans, Louisiana...
,
1999The 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1999, and ended with the championship game on March 29 at Tropicana Field in St....
) and two trips to the NIT (
1998-Semifinals & Finals:*Third Place - Georgia 95, Fresno State 79Minnesota later forfeited its entire 1997-98 schedule due to an academic fraud scandal....
,
1994-Semifinals & Finals:*Third Place - Siena 92, Kansas State 79...
).
Women's Basketball
The University of Evansville women's basketball team (the Lady Aces) have made two trips to the NCAA basketball tournament (
1999The 1999 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament began on March 12, 1999 and concluded on March 28, 1999 when Purdue won its first national championship in any women's sport. The Final Four was held at the San Jose Arena in San Jose, California on March 26 - March 28, 1999. Purdue defeated...
,
2009The regionals, held in the city rather than the geographic area as a practice that has been used since 2005, were held there from March 28 to 31 at these sites:...
).
Football
Evansville currently operates as an NCAA Division I Club sport for football. The Purple Aces were previously a fully funded NCAA Division I program. Talk has existed since 2007 upgrading football again to a fully funded NCAA Division I team.
Bowl Games
| Season |
Bowl |
Champion |
Runner-Up |
| 1948 |
Refrigerator Bowl The Refrigerator Bowl was a college football bowl game played annually from 1948 until 1956 in Evansville, Indiana. The game was named for the local refrigerator production. With 3800 units a day being manufactured, Evansville at the time was known as the "refrigerator capital of the United...
|
Evansville |
13 |
Missouri Valley Missouri Valley College is a private, four-year liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church . The campus is in Marshall, Missouri.The college was founded in 1889 and supports 27 academic majors and an enrollment close to 1,800 students...
|
7 |
| 1949 |
Refrigerator Bowl The Refrigerator Bowl was a college football bowl game played annually from 1948 until 1956 in Evansville, Indiana. The game was named for the local refrigerator production. With 3800 units a day being manufactured, Evansville at the time was known as the "refrigerator capital of the United...
|
Evansville |
22 |
Hillsdale Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, United States, is a co-educational liberal arts college known for being the first American college to prohibit in its charter all discrimination based on race, religion, or sex; its refusal of government funding; and its monthly publication, Imprimis...
|
7 |
| 1974 |
College Division Cup |
Central College (Iowa) |
17 |
Evansville |
16 |
School spirit
In 2000, the University adopted a new athletics logo that did away with the old Ace Purple logo (pictured). However, the University made sure that Ace Purple remained as a big part of home athletic events. To this day, a University of Evansville student is chosen during try-outs in August to don the Ace Purple mascot costume at all major home athletic events.
The athletic teams are supported by the university's dance team, cheer squad, and a pep band, the
Aces BrassAces Brass is an ensemble at the University of Evansville that performs at basketball games, pep events, homecoming, and a spring pops concert. The ensemble consists of approximately 25-75 UE students and is directed by Dean Musson and Kenneth Steinsultz....
.
See also
- 1941 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1941 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 5th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format . The third time was the charm for the Aztecs of San Diego State...
- 1942 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1942 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 6th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format ....
- 1951 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1951 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 14th Annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format . The championship game featured Hamline University and Millikin University ....
- 1955 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1955 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 18th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format . The 1955 tournament was one for the record books...
- 1959 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament
The 1959 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball as a culmination of the 1958-59 NCAA Division II men's basketball season...
- 1960 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament
The 1960 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball as a culmination of the 1959-60 NCAA Division II men's basketball season...
- 1964 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament
The 1964 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball as a culmination of the 1963-4 NCAA Division II men's basketball season...
- 1965 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament
The 1965 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball as a culmination of the 1964-5 NCAA Division II men's basketball season...
- 1971 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament
The 1971 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball as a culmination of the 1970-1 NCAA Division II men's basketball season...
- 1982 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1982 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1982, and ended with the championship game on March 29 in New Orleans, Louisiana...
- 1982 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1982 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1982, and ended with the championship game on March 29 in New Orleans, Louisiana...
- 1992 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1992 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 19, 1992, and ended with the championship game on April 6 in Minneapolis, Minnesota...
- 1993 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1993 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 1993, and ended with the championship game on April 5 in New Orleans, Louisiana...
- 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1999, and ended with the championship game on March 29 at Tropicana Field in St....
- 1999 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1999 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament began on March 12, 1999 and concluded on March 28, 1999 when Purdue won its first national championship in any women's sport. The Final Four was held at the San Jose Arena in San Jose, California on March 26 - March 28, 1999. Purdue defeated...
- 2003 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2003 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament began on March 22, 2003 and concluded on April 8, 2003 when the Connecticut Huskies won their second straight national title. The Final Four was held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia on April 6 - April 8, 2003...
- Sports in Evansville
Evansville, Indiana, USA is the home of two minor league professional, two semi-professional, and three amateur sports teams. The city is also the home to two NCAA collegiate teams, and nine high schools that participate in the Indiana High School Athletic Association...
External links