honoring UE's championship tradition In the early years of the men's basketball program the Purple Aces appeared in the
NAIA national tournament. The Purple Aces appeared 4 times in the
NAIA Tournament (
1941,
1942,
1951, and
1955). The Purple Aces had a NAIA tournament record of 3–4. The furthest Evansville got in the NAIA tournaments was in third round (NAIA Quarterfinals) in 1951, only to lose to
Regis University (Colo.) 70–68. Shortly after the 1955 season the Purple Aces moved up to the NCAA College Division, now called
NCAA Division II. The Evansville Purple Aces rank second all-time in NCAA College Division national championships with five:
1959,
1960,
1964,
1965 (29–0 record) and
1971. The 1964 and 1965 teams starred NBA Legend
Jerry Sloan, the 1971 team featured future NBA star
Don Buse and future NCAA referee Steve Welmer. won five national championships in his tenure. 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 Airport en route to a game against
Middle Tennessee State. Every member of the team and coaching staff on the plane was killed. David Furr, who was a member of the 1977–78 Purple Aces squad, did not die in the crash, as he was out for the season with an ankle injury and thus was not on the plane that day. However, only just two weeks later after the crash, Furr and his younger brother Byron were killed in a
car accident near
Newton, Illinois, leaving the entire 1977–78 Purple Aces team dead. Tremendous community support brought back the basketball program the next year. Evansville was a charter member of the
Midwest 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 the
Missouri Valley Conference, and won the 1999 regular season title. Legendary Aces coach
Arad McCutchan was the first NCAA College Division coach selected to the
Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The Purple Aces have made five trips to the NCAA Men's basketball tournament (
1982,
1989,
1992,
1993,
1999) and two trips to the NIT (
1988,
1994). ==Seasonal records==