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The Aces have also succeeded outside the playing arena. Evansville has produced 20 Academic All-Americans, including first team men's basketball player Clint Cuffle in 2003. In 2002, Evansville's men's swimming & diving team produced the highest grade point average of any men's swim team in the nation. UE athletics now include 14 varsity sports, eight for women and six for men. They include men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's swimming & diving, men's and women's soccer, baseball, softball, women's tennis, and women's volleyball. 1919 - Basketball program begins at Moores Hill 1923 - John Harmon becomes head coach of all sports and director of athletics 1926 - Nickname changes from Pioneers to Aces 1930 - Bill Slyker becomes head coach of all sports and director of athletics 1934 - Basketball team wins school-record 15 games, most until 1946 1946 - Arad McCutchan becomes head basketball coach and director of athletics; Don Ping chosen as football coach 1949 - '49ers' as they were later referred to win football's Refrigerator Bowl and compile 8-2-1 record 1950 - Evansville joins Heartland Collegiate Conference 1959 - Aces win first NCAA College Division national championship in basketball 1960 - Aces repeat as NCAA champions 1964 - Aces win third NCAA College Division national championship 1965 - Aces go 29-0 in winning fourth NCAA College Division national championship 1971 - Aces win fifth NCAA basketball championship 1974 - Football team qualifies for NCAA Division II playoffs and ties school record with eight wins 1976 - UE accepted for NCAA Division I status, beginning in 1977 1977 - Jim Byers resigns as football coach to become director of athletics; December 13 airplane crash kills UE basketball team 1979 - Evansville joins Midwestern Collegiate Conference 1982 - Women's athletics come totally under athletics department control; men's basketball team and men's soccer team make first NCAA Division I Tournament appearances 1985 - Men's soccer team reaches NCAA Final Four; Jim Crews replaces Dick Walters as basketball coach 1988 - Baseball team reaches NCAA Tournament; pitcher Andy Benes is first pick in MLB draft and represents UE in 1988 Olympic Games 1989 - Scott Haffner scores school-record 65 points against Dayton; Men's basketball team wins first NCAA Division I Tournament game over Oregon State; Rob Paterson chosen as men's soccer national player of the year; Andy Benes makes major league pitching debut 1990 - Men's soccer team reaches NCAA Final Four for second time in six years 1993 - Women's soccer debuts; UE joins Missouri Valley Conference 1996 - Men's soccer team makes 11th NCAA Tournament appearance since 1982; women's soccer wins first MVC championship 1998 - Women's soccer team makes first NCAA Division I Tournament appearance by a UE women's team; UE discontinues football; Jim Byers retires after 21 years as director of athletics; David Weir becomes first American collegiate player to compete for a European country (Scotland) in the World Cup 1999 - Men's and women's basketball teams qualify for NCAA Division I Tournament 2000 - Baseball team makes second NCAA Tournament appearance; swimmer Nikola Kalabic represents his native Yugoslavia in the Olympics; swimmer Kim Dodson qualifies for NCAA Championships 2001 - Women's soccer team makes third NCAA Tournament appearance in four years; swimmer Kim Dodson qualifies for NCAA Championships for second year in a row 2002 - Bill McGillis hired as director of athletics; Steve Merfeld replaces Jim Crews as basketball coach after 17 years; softball team makes first NCAA Tournament appearance; soccer coach Fred Schmalz retires after winning 302 matches in 24 years |
The University of Evansville athletics department was built upon a foundation of success in men's basketball, including NCAA College Division national championships in 1959, 1960, 1964, 1965 and 1971. In the past 25 years, however, Purple Aces' athletics have grown to include numerous successful sports. Men's soccer, women's soccer, baseball, softball, women's swimming & diving, and women's basketball have all joined men's basketball in qualifying for NCAA Division I tournament play in the past decade.