Hoosier Hysteria is the state of excitement surrounding basketball in Indiana or, more specifically, the Indiana high school basketball tournament. In part, the enthusiasm stemmed from the one-class tournament, in which a small town's David might knock off a large city's Goliath. The most famous example occurred in 1954, when Milan defeated Muncie Central to win the state title. The movie Hoosiers was inspired in part by the story of the 1954 Milan team and typifies the hysteria related to basketball in Indiana.
Evansville is a city in and the county seat of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, with a population of 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in Southern Indiana, and the 249th-most populous city in the United States. It is the central city of the Evansville metropolitan area, a hub of commercial, medical, and cultural activity of southwestern Indiana and the Illinois–Indiana–Kentucky tri-state area, that is home to over 911,000 people. The 38th parallel crosses the north side of the city and is marked on Interstate 69.
Heritage Bank Center is an indoor arena located in downtown Cincinnati, next to the Great American Ball Park. It was completed in September 1975 and named Riverfront Coliseum because of its placement next to Riverfront Stadium. In 1997, the facility became known as The Crown, and in 1999, it changed its name again to Firstar Center after Firstar Bank assumed naming rights. In 2002, following Firstar's merger with U.S. Bank, the arena took on the name U.S. Bank Arena and kept that name until 2019.
Todd Arlan Lickliter is the former head coach of the Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). He was previously the head coach of Marian University, the University of Iowa, and Butler University men's basketball teams. He spent the 2011–12 season as an assistant coach at Miami (Ohio).
The Evansville Purple Aces are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of the University of Evansville, located in Evansville, Indiana. The Aces athletic program is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference and competes at the NCAA's Division I level. Evansville's mascot is Ace Purple, and the school colors are purple, white and orange.
Evansville, Indiana is the home to two minor league professional sports teams and one amateur sports team. The city is also the home to two NCAA collegiate teams, and nine high schools that participate in the Indiana High School Athletic Association. Evansville is also the host to the annual Hoosier Nationals and Demolition City Roller Derby.
The Ford Center is a multi-use indoor arena in downtown Evansville, Indiana with a maximum seating capacity of 11,000. It officially opened in November 2011 and is mainly used for basketball, ice hockey, and music concerts. It is home to the Evansville Thunderbolts minor league hockey team in the SPHL and the Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team, representing the University of Evansville. The UE women's basketball team also played at Ford Center from the venue's opening, but moved its home games back to its campus starting with the 2017–18 season.
The Liberty Flames and Lady Flames are the athletics teams of Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. They are a member of the NCAA Division I level in 20 sports. As of July 1, 2023, LU is a member of Conference USA (C-USA) for most sports, joining that league after five years as a member of the ASUN Conference. Four sports that are not sponsored by C-USA are housed elsewhere. Women's swimming competes in the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association. The field hockey team was a member of the Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference before that league's demise after the 2014 season. After playing the 2015 season as an independent, the team joined the Big East Conference in 2016. Women's lacrosse remains in the ASUN Conference. Men's soccer competes in the Ohio Valley Conference. In football, Liberty had participated in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as an independent before joining C-USA. The mascot, Sparky, is frequently seen at events. Liberty University is the second youngest school in NCAA Division I, founded in 1971. As a member of the Big South Conference, Liberty regularly competed for the Sasser Cup, which is the trophy for the university which has the best sports program among the member institutions. Liberty won the Sasser Cup 10 times, the most in Big South Conference history.
The Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represents the Purple Aces of the University of Evansville, located in Evansville, Indiana, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. They play their home games at the Ford Center. Evansville's athletics teams were originally known as the Pioneers in the early part of the 1900s. In the 1920s, the name Aces arose after a local sports writer wrote in a game story of the men's basketball team, "They played like Aces." The team has been known as the Aces and/or Purple Aces ever since. Evansville has won five Division II national championships. On November 12, 2019, the Aces earned one of the biggest victories in their Division I history, upsetting top-ranked Kentucky at Rupp Arena.
Sports in New York's Capital District are very popular, and there is a rich history of professional teams and college athletics.
The Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC) was a college athletic conference in the United States, in existence from 1950 to 1978. It consisted solely of schools in Indiana.
The Evansville Purple Aces men's soccer team represents the University of Evansville in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) of NCAA Division I soccer. The Purple Aces play their home matches on Black Beauty Field at Arad McCutchan Stadium on the north end of the university's campus in Evansville, Indiana. The team is currently coached by Marshall Ray.
The 2015 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament involved 64 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball. It began on March 13, 2015, following the 2014–15 season and concluded with the championship game on March 28, 2015.
The 2002 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament was the 46th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball in the United States.
The 2020–21 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Purple Aces were led by head coach Todd Lickliter in his first full season at Evansville and played their home games at the Ford Center as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they finished the season 9–16, 7–11 in MVC play to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place. As the No. 5 seed in the MVC tournament, they lost to Indiana State in the quarterfinals.
DeAndre Williams is an American college basketball player for the Memphis Tigers of the American Athletic Conference (AAC). He previously played for the Evansville Purple Aces.
The 2021–22 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Purple Aces were led by head coach Todd Lickliter in his second full season at Evansville and played their home games at the Ford Center as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). They finished the season 6–24, 2–16 in MVC play to finish in last place. They lost to Valparaiso in the first round of the MVC tournament.
The 2022 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament was the single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball in the United States.
The 2022–23 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Purple Aces, led by first-year head coach David Ragland, played their home games at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 5–27, 1–19 in MVC play to finish in last place. They lost to Indiana State in the first round of the MVC tournament.
The 2010–11 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville in the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Purple Aces, led by head coach Marty Simmons, played their home games at Roberts Municipal Stadium in Evansville, Indiana, as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. The Purple Aces finished sixth in the Missouri Valley during the regular season, and were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley tournament by eventual tournament champion Indiana State.
