Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

is the home to two minor league professional sports teams and one amateur sports team. The city is also the home to two

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

collegiate teams, and nine high schools that participate in the

Indiana High School Athletic Association The Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) is the arbiter of interscholastic competition among public and private high schools in the U.S. state of Indiana. It monitors a system that divides athletically-competing high schools in Indiana ...

. Evansville is also the host to the annual Hoosier Nationals and

Demolition City Roller Derby Demolition City Roller Derby (DCRD) is a women's flat-track roller derby league in Evansville, Indiana, and is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). History and organization DCRD became Evansville's first flat-track roll ...

Professional teams

Evansville Otters

The

Evansville Otters The Evansville Otters are a professional baseball team based in Evansville, Indiana. They compete in the West Division of the independent Frontier League. Since their establishment in 1995, the Otters have played at historic Bosse Field, which o ...

are a professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

team based in Evansville. The team is part of the west division of the

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

. 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 Bosse Field is a baseball stadium located in Evansville, Indiana. Opened in 1915, it was the first municipally owned sports stadium in the United States and is the third-oldest ballpark still in regular use for professional baseball, surpassed o ...

, 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 The Evansville Otters are a professional baseball team based in Evansville, Indiana. They compete in the West Division of the independent Frontier League. Since their establishment in 1995, the Otters have played at historic Bosse Field, which o ...

(1993–1994).

Evansville Thunderbolts

The

Evansville Thunderbolts The Evansville Thunderbolts are a minor league ice hockey team in the Southern Professional Hockey League. The team plays at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. The team replaced the Evansville IceMen of the ECHL. History During the 2015� ...

are a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

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 The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

Evansville IceMen The Evansville IceMen were a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL in Evansville, Indiana. The franchise was originally a member of the United Hockey League before it merged into the Central Hockey League in 2010. The franchise has won four po ...

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.

Amateur sports

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 The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is the international governing body for the sport of women's flat track roller derby, and association of leagues around the world. The organization was founded in April 2004 as the United Leagues Co ...

. They compete at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum.

Dynamite Dolls

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

Destruction Dames

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

Evansville Legends FC

The

Evansville Legends FC Evansville Legends FC is an American soccer club based in Evansville, Indiana. The team was founded in 2021 by Steve McCullough and competes in the River Conference of the Ohio Valley Premier League. The Legends play their home games on Old Nat ...

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 Goebel Soccer Complex is a multi-purpose, $3.4 million project that opened in the spring of 2004 on of land in Evansville, Indiana. The facility has nine Olympic-size irrigated Bermuda grass fields and one Olympic-size AstroPlay turf field. Th ...

Collegiate sports

Evansville has two universities that are members of the

: the

University of Evansville The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton College, in Grantham, England. UE offers more than 80 differ ...

(Purple Aces) and

University of Southern Indiana The University of Southern Indiana (USI) is a public university just outside of Evansville, Indiana. Founded in 1965, USI enrolls 9,750 dual credit, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students in more than 130 areas of study. USI offers program ...

(Screaming Eagles). These schools have a combined 9 team national championships. *''In

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

Evansville Purple Aces

The

(UE) is a member of

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

and the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

. 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

The

(USI) Athletic Department, currently in

as a member of the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Cham ...

. USI sponsors 15 varsity intercollegiate sports. USI was a member of the

Great Lakes Valley Conference The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Its thirteen member institutions are located in the U.S. states of Illinois ...

of the

from 1970-2022, switching to the Division I

on July 1st, 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

Evansville has had a long history with professional sports teams. Past professional organizations have included the NFL, Triple-A minor league baseball,

arena football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ...

, minor league

, and professional basketball. Past Evansville major league, minor league, and semi-professional teams have won a combined 17 championships.

Baseball

Football

Basketball

Ice hockey

Soccer

Events hosted

NCAA events

From 1957 to 1975, Evansville hosted the final phase of the

NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament (officially styled by the NCAA as a "Championship" instead of a "Tournament") is an annual championship tournament for colleges and universities that are members of NCAA Division II, a grouping of ...

, the Elite Eight, at

Roberts Municipal Stadium Roberts Municipal Stadium was a multi-purpose arena in Evansville, Indiana, for sports, public events, and concerts. The arena was built in 1956. It seated up to 12,732 spectators and featured four locker rooms and a press room. On June 13, 1972, ...

, 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

basketball tournaments, and in 2013 and 2014 the same event was held at the Ford Center. Since 2018, Ford Center has hosted the

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

From 1938 to 1940 and 1979 to 2009, Evansville hosted Thunder on the Ohio, a hydroplane boat race in the

H1 Unlimited H1 Unlimited is an American Unlimited Hydroplane racing league that is sanctioned by the American Power Boat Association (APBA). Until 2009, the series was known as ABRA Unlimited Hydroplane, in turn renamed from APBA Unlimited Hydroplane in 2004. ...

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 ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

and the

SPEED In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude Magnitude may refer to: Mathematics *Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction *Magnitude (ma ...

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 William Edward Muncey (November 12, 1928 – October 18, 1981) was an American hydroplane racing legend from Detroit, Michigan. The International Motorsports Hall of Fame and hydroplane historian Dan Cowie described Muncey as "without question, the ...

'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 Dave Villwock (born February 10, 1954) is a hydroplane driver, known best for racing Unlimited Hydroplanes. Villwock has the most victories in unlimited hydroplane history for a driver with 67. Villwock won ten National High Point Championshi ...

had won more Evansville races than anyone else, including seven with

Miss Budweiser The ''Miss Budweiser'' were 22 hydroplanes sponsored by Budweiser beer that raced in the unlimited class under the U-12 banner. They were owned (some were leased backups) by Bernie Little. Anheuser-Busch sponsorship began in 1963, thanks to the ...

Evansville HydroFest

Hydroplane racing returned to Evansville in 2017, with the introduction of the Evansville Hydrofest, an

American Power Boat Association The American Power Boat Association (APBA) is an American membership-owned corporation. In 1903, New York's Columbia Yacht Club had formulated a constitution for what ultimately became the APBA. It is the United States sanctioning authority for the ...

event.

The Refrigerator Bowl

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

High school state championships

Evansville has a proud high school sport heritage, including 88 team championships. Evansville has nine active city high schools that participate in the

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

Notable athletes

Baseball

* Alan Benes,

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

baseball player *

Andy Benes Andrew Charles Benes (born August 20, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1989 to 2002, most prominently as a member of the San Diego Padres where he was na ...

baseball player *

Jamey Carroll Jamey Blake Carroll (born February 18, 1974) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, ...

baseball player *

Bob Coleman Robert Hunter Coleman (September 26, 1890 – July 16, 1959) was an American catcher, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. He also was one of the most successful managers in the history of minor league baseball. During a career that extend ...

manager, Evansville minor league baseball coach, Indiana Baseball Hall of Famer * Charlie Dexter,

baseball player * Jerad Eickhoff,

baseball player * Ervin "Pete" Fox,

player * Charles Knoll,

baseball player * Clarence "Big Boy" Kraft,

baseball player *

Don Mattingly Donald Arthur Mattingly (born April 20, 1961) is an American former professional baseball first baseman, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed ...

baseball player and coach *

Edd Roush Edd J. Roush (May 8, 1893 – March 21, 1988) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from 1913 to 1931, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds where he was a ...

Baseball Hall of Famer * Jack Warner,

baseball player * Jeff Schulz,

baseball player * Jim "Lefty" Wallace,

baseball player * Paul Splittorff,

baseball player * Ray Newman,

baseball player *

Sam Thompson Samuel Luther "Big Sam" Thompson (March 5, 1860 – November 7, 1922) was an American professional baseball player from 1884 to 1898 and with a brief comeback in 1906. At , the Indiana native was one of the larger players of his day and was known ...

Baseball Hall of Fame * Al Schellhase,

baseball player * Syl "Sammy" Simon,

baseball player

Basketball

Arad McCutchan Arad A. McCutchan (July 4, 1912 – June 16, 1993) was a collegiate basketball coach. The Evansville, Indiana, native coached his hometown University of Evansville from 1946 to 1977, guiding the Purple Aces to a 514–314 record. McCutchan spent ...

, basketball hall of fame coach * Bob Ford, ABA basketball player; collegiate telecaster *

Calbert Cheaney Calbert Nathaniel Cheaney (born July 17, 1971) is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He starred as a player for the Indiana Hoosiers fr ...

, NBA basketball player * Dave Schellhase, NBA basketball player * Don Buse, NBA basketball player and former All Star * Gus Doerner, NBA basketball player *

Jerry Sloan Gerald Eugene Sloan (March 28, 1942 – May 22, 2020) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) before beginning a 30-year coaching career, 23 of which were spent ...

, NBA basketball coach * Larry Humes,

basketball All-American for the

* Marv Bates, Univ. of Evansville basketball sportscaster; former Indiana Sportscaster of the Year * Ted Bernhardt, NBA basketball referee *

Walter McCarty Walter Lee McCarty (born February 1, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. McCarty played for the NBA's New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, and the Los Angeles Clippers. He last served as head coach ...

, NBA basketball player

Cycling

* 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

* Billy Hillenbrand, NFL football player * Bob Griese, NFL All-Star, All-Pro, Hall of Famer * Budd Boetticher,

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

football player * Deke Cooper, NFL football player * Don Hansen, NFL football player * Don Ping,

football coach * Doug Bell, NFL football player; Kodak All-American Ball State University * Kevin Hardy, NFL football player * Larry Stallings, NFL linebacker * Ray "Bibbles" Bawel, NFL football player * Scott Studwell, NFL linebacker * Sean Bennett, NFL football player

Golf

Bob Hamilton Robert T. Hamilton (January 10, 1916 – December 6, 1990) was an American professional golfer. He was born, raised, and died in Evansville, Indiana. He attended and graduated from Evansville Reitz High School in 1934. Hamilton won ten profess ...

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

professional golfer; 1944

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

winner * Brian Tennyson,

Asian Tour The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf tour in Asia except for Japan, which has its own Japan Golf Tour, which is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on the tour count for Wo ...

golfer; won 1987 Indian Open & 1987 Philippine Open * Darrett Brinker, Web.com Tour professional golfer * Jeff Overton,

professional golfer

Ice hockey

* Kira Hurley, professional ice hockey player for

, Hockey Hall of Fame

Horse Racing

* Chic Anderson, sportscaster * Hillsdale ((

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

)), one of only 5 horses in history to sweep the prestigious Santa Anita's Strub Stakes Series

Soccer

* David Weir, European club soccer player, Scottish national team captain,

All-American * Josh Tudela,

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

and USL soccer player * Scott Cannon,

soccer player * Steve Klein,

and USL soccer player

Swimming

Lilly King Lillia Camille King (born February 10, 1997) is an American swimmer who specializes in breaststroke. She currently represents the Cali Condors, a team that is part of the International Swimming League. At the 2016 Summer Olympics she won the ...

, swimmer, gold medalist at 2016 Summer Olympics in 100m Breaststroke.

Tennis

* 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 The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

in Atlanta

Track & Field

* Charles Hornbostel, United States Olympic Track & Field team member in 1932 and 1936 * Roger Brown, Evansville, Indiana (United States), 1984 Big Ten Outdoor champion for Indiana University, high jump 7–0.25" (2.14); Billy Hayes Inv. Outdoor Record (1986), jumped 7–1.75 (2.18) Champion

Wrestling

* Andrew Thomas,

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promo ...

producer and referee *

Ralph Wilson Ralph Cookerly Wilson Jr. (October 17, 1918 – March 25, 2014) was an American businessman and sports executive. He was best known as the founder and owner of the Buffalo Bills, a team in the National Football League (NFL). He was one of the fo ...

, professional wrestler *

Rudy Charles Daniel Engler (born November 20, 1977) is an American professional wrestling referee, better known by his former ring name, Rudy Charles, best known for his time as a referee in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he was the promotion's ...

referee

References

{{Evansville, Indiana