Evansville Basketball Tickets
No matter where you go in the state of Indiana, people are always excited to watch basketball. That even includes smaller college programs like the Evansville Purple Aces. As a longtime Division II program, cheap Evansville basketball tickets have always been in abundance. But this is changing, now that the Purple Aces have started to find their footing at the Division I level - as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. In fact, there is now a huge demand for last-minute Evansville basketball tickets whenever the Purple Aces play a home game.
Ace in the Hole
Throughout the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, Evansville could be considered a powerhouse program at the Division II level. Between 1959 and 1971, the Purple Aces won five Division II national championships. They also reached the NCAA Tournament in all but two seasons during that stretch. Future NBA players like Jerry Sloan and Don Buse played for Evansville during that era, making it inevitable that the Purple Aces would one day become a Division I program and compete at the highest level.
Starting from Scratch
Unfortunately, tragedy struck the Evansville basketball program during the first season the Purple Aces played at the Division I level. All but one member of the team and coaching staff were killed in a plane in December 1977, with the only surviving player dying in a car accident two weeks later. It was one of the greatest tragedies in the history of college athletics. But thanks to incredible support from the community, the Purple Aces started the program virtually from scratch the following season.
Little Miracles
Given the tragedy suffered by Evansville basketball, every accomplishment the program has had can be considered a little miracle. Somehow, it only took the Purple Aces until 1982 to reach the Division I NCAA Tournament for the first time, with the Purple Aces eventually winning their first tournament game in 1989. There have been good times and bad since then, but a CIT championship in 2015 has helped to make Evansville an up-and-coming program in the Missouri Valley.
