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Sports in Evansville, Indiana

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Further information: Evansville, Indiana

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.

Professional teams

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Club League Sport Venue Established Championships
Evansville Otters Frontier League Baseball Bosse Field 1995 2 league titles • 5 division titles
Evansville Thunderbolts SPHL Ice hockey Ford Center 2016 None
Midwest Hooligans UPSL Soccer Double Cola Soccer Complex 2021 None

Evansville Otters

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Main article: Evansville Otters

The Evansville Otters are a professional baseball team based in Evansville. The team is part of the west division of the Frontier League. The Otters have won two league titles (2006, 2016) and five division titles (1997, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006) since their inception in 1995. The team plays at Bosse Field, which has been used for professional baseball since it opened in 1915 and is the third oldest ballpark used for professional baseball on a regular basis in America. The Otters were previously known as the Lancaster Scouts (1993–1994).

Evansville Thunderbolts

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Main article: Evansville Thunderbolts

The Evansville Thunderbolts are a professional ice hockey team based in Evansville. The team is part of the Southern Professional Hockey League. The Thunderbolts' home arena is the Ford Center where they play all 28 of their home games. The Thunderbolts replaced the ECHL's Evansville IceMen after the IceMen's owner, Ron Geary, and the city of Evansville failed to come to an agreement for a new lease at the Ford Center during the 2015–16 season.[1]

Amateur sports

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Club League Sport Venue Established Championships
Demolition City Roller Derby WFTDA Roller derby Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum 2007 None
Evansville Legends FC OVPL Soccer Old National Bank Field 2021 OVPL title (2021)

Demolition City Roller Derby

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Demolition City Roller Derby is a women's flat-track roller derby league in Evansville, Indiana and a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association. They compete at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum.

Dynamite Dolls

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The Dynamite Dolls are the A-team for the Demolition City Roller Derby.

Destruction Dames

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The Destruction Dames are the B-team for the Demolition City Roller Derby.

Evansville Legends FC

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The Evansville Legends FC are an amateur soccer team that was formed in 2021 by Marquette soccer alumnus Steve McCullough. The Legends compete in the River Conference of the Ohio Valley Premier League and play home games at Old National Bank Field at Goebel Sports Complex.

Collegiate sports

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Evansville has two universities that are members of the NCAA: the University of Evansville (Purple Aces) and University of Southern Indiana (Screaming Eagles). These schools have a combined 9 team national championships.

School Team Established Division Conference National Titles Championship Sport/Years
University of Evansville Evansville Purple Aces 1854 Div I MVC 5 Men's Basketball: (5) 1959,* 1960,* 1964,* 1965,* and 1971*
University of Southern Indiana Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles 1965 Div I OVC 4 Men's Basketball: (1) 1995*

Baseball: (2) 2010,* 2014*

Softball: (1) 2018*

*In NCAA Division II

Evansville Purple Aces

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The memorial display case at the Ford Center honoring UE's championship tradition

The University of Evansville (UE) is a member of NCAA Division I and the Missouri Valley Conference. UE has 14 NCAA Division I varsity sports, eight for women and six for men.

The University of Evansville athletics department was built upon a foundation of success in men's basketball, including NCAA College Division (now Division II) national championships in 1959, 1960, 1964, 1965 and 1971. The team was led by legendary coach Arad McCutchan from 1946 to 1977 who led the Purple Aces to a 515–313 record. In 1977 UE began playing in NCAA Division I athletics.

Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles

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The University of Southern Indiana (USI) Athletic Department, currently in NCAA Division I as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. USI sponsors 15 varsity intercollegiate sports. USI was a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference of the NCAA Division II from 1970 to 2022, switching to the Division I Ohio Valley Conference on July 1, 2022.

Since 1990, all 15 Screaming Eagles teams have participated in their respective national tournaments and/or were ranked at the national level. USI has claimed four national championships (men's basketball, 1995; baseball, 2010 and 2014; softball, 2018), finished three times as the national finalist (men's basketball, 1994 and 2004; women's basketball, 1997), and earned one third-place finish (men's cross country, 1982).

Defunct teams

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Evansville has had a long history with professional sports teams. Past professional organizations have included the NFL, Triple-A minor league baseball, arena football, minor league ice hockey, and professional basketball. Past Evansville major league, minor league, and semi-professional teams have won a combined 17 championships.

Baseball

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Team Sport League Played Venue Class Affiliation Championships
Evansville Baseball Northwestern League 1884 Louisiana Street Park None None None
Evansville Hoosiers Baseball CIL 1889 Louisiana Street Park None None None
Evansville Baseball Two-I League 1892 Louisiana Street Park None None None
Evansville Blackbirds Baseball Southern League 1895 Louisiana Street Park None None None
Evansville River Rats Baseball Three-I League

Central League

1901-1910 Louisiana Street Park B None Central League title (1908)
Evansville Strikers Baseball Central League 1911 Louisiana Street Park B None None
Evansville Yankees Baseball KITTY League 1912 Louisiana Street Park D None None
Evansville River Rats Baseball Central League 1914–1915 Bosse Field B None Central League title (1915)
Evansville Evas Baseball Central League 1916–1917 Bosse Field B None None
Evansville Black Sox Baseball Three-I League 1919 Bosse Field B None None
Evansville Evas Baseball Three-I League 1920–1923 Bosse Field B None None
Evansville Little Evas Baseball Three-I League 1924 Bosse Field B None None
Evansville Pocketeers Baseball Three-I League 1925 Bosse Field B None None
Evansville Hubs Baseball Three-I League 1926–1931 Bosse Field B None None
Evansville Bees Baseball Three-I League 1938–1942 Bosse Field B Boston Bees (1938–1940)

Boston Braves (1940–1942)

None
Evansville Braves Baseball Three-I League 1946–1957 Bosse Field B Boston Braves

Milwaukee Braves

Three-I League title (1946, 1948, 1956, 1957)
Evansville White Sox Baseball Southern League 1966–1968 Bosse Field AA Chicago White Sox None
Evansville Triplets Baseball AA 1970–1984 Bosse Field AAA Minnesota Twins (1970)

Milwaukee Brewers (1971-1973) Detroit Tigers (1974–84)

AA title (1972, 1975, 1979)
Evansville Outlaws Baseball NSPBA 1990–2007 Various Semi-pro N/A US Baseball Congress Semi-Pro World Series Champions (1997, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007)

Football

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Team Sport League Played Venue Championships
Evansville Crimson Giants Football NFL 1921–1922 Bosse Field None
Evansville Vipers Football OVFL (2000–2006)

MCFL (2006–2007)

2000–2007 Old National Bank Field None
Evansville BlueCats Indoor football NIFL (2003–2005)

UIF (2005–2007)

2003–2007 Roberts Municipal Stadium None
Evansville Express Football NWFA 2004– 2005 Old National Bank Field None
Tri-State Titans Football MOFL 2008–2009 Old National Bank Field None
Ohio River Bearcats Football GMFL 2008–2010 Reitz Bowl GMFL title (2008)
Evansville Enforcers Football GMFL 2011-2016 Various None

Basketball

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Team Sport League Played Venue
Evansville Agogans Basketball NPBL 1950–1951 Central Arena
Evansville Thunder Basketball CAB 1984–1986 Roberts Municipal Stadium

Ice hockey

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Team Sport League Played Venue Championships
Evansville IceMen Ice hockey CHL (2010–12)

ECHL (2012–16)

2010-2016 Swonder Ice Arena

Ford Center

Davidson Cup title (2010)

Soccer

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Team Sport League(s) Played Venue
Evansville Crush PASL Indoor soccer 2010-2013 Metro Sports Center

Events hosted

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NCAA events

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From 1957 to 1975, Evansville hosted the final phase of the NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament, the Elite Eight, at Roberts Municipal Stadium, and then again in 2002. The city is also slated to host the event at the Ford Center in 2014. From 1999 to 2007, Roberts Stadium hosted the Great Lakes Valley Conference basketball tournaments, and in 2013 and 2014 the same event was held at the Ford Center. Since 2018, Ford Center has hosted the Ohio Valley Conference men's and women's tournaments.

A number of Division I NCAA events have been hosted by the city as well. In 1983, Roberts Stadium hosted the first round of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, and in 1980 and 1983 it hosted the Midwestern City Conference (now Horizon League) men's basketball conference tournament.

Thunder on the Ohio

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Main article: Thunder on the Ohio

From 1938 to 1940 and 1979 to 2009, Evansville hosted Thunder on the Ohio, a hydroplane boat race in the H1 Unlimited season. The race was held on the Ohio River in downtown Evansville. The winner of Thunder on the Ohio received the Four Freedoms Trophy, which was named after the nearby Four Freedoms Monument which rests along the Ohio River. The race had frequently been broadcast on ESPN and the SPEED television network.

Thunder on the Ohio had been an Unlimited hydroplane mainstay for 30 consecutive years. "Ideal Evansville" replaced Owensboro, Kentucky, on the unlimited calendar in 1979. Evansville was the world headquarters of Atlas Van Lines, Inc., which sponsored Bill Muncey's race team. Muncey played a major role in Evansville being awarded its first sanction.

Prior to Thunder on the Ohio, the 725 Cubic Inch Class boats, the forerunners of the modern unlimiteds, raced at Evansville from 1938 through 1940. Dave Villwock had won more Evansville races than anyone else, including seven with Miss Budweiser.

Evansville HydroFest

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Hydroplane racing returned to Evansville in 2017, with the introduction of the Evansville Hydrofest, an American Power Boat Association event.[2]

Refrigerator Bowl

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Main article: Refrigerator Bowl

From 1948 to 1956, Evanville hosted an annual college football bowl game, the Refrigerator Bowl. Currently, Evansville is the only city in Indiana to have hosted a college football bowl game.

Date played Winning team Losing team Notes
December 4, 1948 Evansville College 13 Missouri Valley College 7 [3][4]
December 3, 1949 Evansville College 22 Hillsdale College 7 [5][6]
December 2, 1950 Abilene Christian College 14 Gustavus Adolphus College 7 [7]
December 2, 1951 Arkansas State College 46 Camp Breckinridge 12 [8]
December 7, 1952 Western Kentucky State College 34 Arkansas State College 19 [9][10]
December 6, 1953 Sam Houston State Teachers College 14 College of Idaho 12 [11]
December 5, 1954 University of Delaware 19 Kent State 7 [12][13]
December 4, 1955 Jacksonville State Teachers College 12 Rhode Island 10 [14]
December 1, 1956 Sam Houston State Teachers College 27 Middle Tennessee State College 13 [15]

High school state championships

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Evansville has a proud high school sport heritage, including 88 team championships. Evansville has nine active city high schools that participate in the Indiana High School Athletic Association. The 88 team titles won by Evansville city high schools includes 26 soccer titles, 17 football titles, 13 wrestling titles, 9 basketball titles, 6 tennis titles, 9 golf titles, 5 baseball titles, 2 softball titles, and 1 bowling title. Defunct IHSAA high schools from Evansville that are no longer active include Evansville Rex Mundi and Evansville Lincoln.

School Established Conference State Team Titles Championship Sport/Years
Evansville Bosse 1924 SIAC 3 Boys Basketball: (3) 1943–44, 1944–45, 1961–62
Evansville Central 1854 SIAC 0
Evansville Day School 1946 IHSAA-independent 0
Evansville Harrison 1962 SIAC 2 Girls Golf: (1) 1988–89

Boys Golf: (1) 2011–12

Evansville Mater Dei 1949 SIAC 23 Baseball: (1) 1998–99

Softball: (1) 2015–16

Boys Basketball: (1) 2003–04

Girls Basketball: (2) 2011–12, 2012–13

Football:(2) 2000–01, 2022–23

Wrestling: (13) 1985–86, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2020–21

Girls Soccer: (3) 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20

Evansville Memorial 1922 SIAC 38 Baseball: (3) 1977–79, 1988–89, 1992–93

Football: (4) 1937–38*, 1958–59*, 2017–18, 2019–20

Boys Soccer: (16) 1979–80*, 1980–81*, 1981–82*, 1983–84*, 1984–85*, 1986–87*, 1988–89*, 1989–90*, 1990–91*, 1992–93*, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21

Girls Soccer: (7) 1988–89*, 1996–97, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2017–18, 2021–22, 2022–23

Softball: (1) 2001–02

Girls Tennis: (6) 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 2011–12

Girls Basketball: (1) 2010–11

Evansville North 1956 SIAC 9 Baseball: (1) 1961–62*

Boys Basketball: (1) 1966–67

Boys Golf: (1) 1999-00

Girls Golf: (6) 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22

Evansville Reitz 1918 SIAC 13 Girls Basketball: (1) 1980–81

Football: (11) 1933–34*, 1940–41*, 1948–49*, 1953–54*, 1956–57*, 1957–58*, 1960–61*, 1961–62*, 1971–72*, 2007–08, 2009–10

Bowling: (1) 2011-12+

Evansville Signature 2002 IHSAA-independent 0 None

* = indicates title won before IHSAA State Tournament was initiated
+ = indicates sanctioned by the Indiana High School Bowling Association

Notable athletes

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Baseball

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Don Mattingly

Basketball

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Cycling

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  • Frank Kramer, 18-time national sprint bicycling champion, 2-time Grand Prix de Paris Champion, first American to win the World Professional Sprint Championship, US Bicycling Hall of Famer

Football

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Golf

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Ice hockey

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Horse Racing

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  • Chic Anderson, sportscaster
  • Hillsdale ((Thoroughbred)), one of only 5 horses in history to sweep the prestigious Santa Anita's Strub Stakes Series

Soccer

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Swimming

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Tennis

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  • Byron "Buddy" Buckley, Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Hall of Famer
  • Louise Owen, tennis player
  • Sara Turber, formerly ranked second in the world in Lawn Tennis
  • Woodie Sublette-Walker, Chief of tennis officials for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta

Track & Field

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  • Charles Hornbostel, United States Olympic Track & Field team member in 1932 and 1936.

Wrestling

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References

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  1. ^ "Evansville will be home to Southern Professional Hockey League franchise". Evansville Courier & Press. February 8, 2016.
  2. ^ "HydroFest boat race called a success, will return in 2018". Evansville Courier & Press. 27 September 2017.
  3. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-07-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Missouri Valley's Streak Of 41 Grid Wins Snapped". The Hartford Courant. December 5, 1948.
  5. ^ Evansville Athletics – Football
  6. ^ "EVANSVILLE ON TOP, 22–7; Pins First Defeat on Hillsdale in Refrigerator Bowl". The New York Times. December 4, 1949.
  7. ^ Athletic Hall of Fame – Gustavus Adolphus College
  8. ^ "Arkansas State Wins Refrigerator Bowl". The Washington Post. December 3, 1951.
  9. ^ Western Kentucky University Official Sports Site
  10. ^ "REFRIGERATOR BOWL GAME WON BY W. KENTUCKY". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 8, 1952.
  11. ^ ‘Yote Notes – Aug
  12. ^ BuckeyeXtra – The Columbus Dispatch : Former Buckeye helped rebuild Kent State program
  13. ^ "DELAWARE BEATS KENT STATE, 19–7; Wins in Refrigerator Bowl as Zaiser Scores Twice in Fourth Period". The New York Times. December 6, 1954.
  14. ^ "Rhode Island Loses Refrigerator Bowl Duel To Jacksonville, Ala., State, 12–10". The Hartford Courant. December 5, 1955.
  15. ^ ESPN – Middle Tennessee bowl history – College Football
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