Tragedy Struck University of Evansville Basketball 35 Years Ago Today

35 years ago today was “the night it rained tears.”

1977 was an exciting year for University of Evansville basketball. It was the first season as a division one team. But that all came to an end on December 13, 1977 when a chartered plane carrying the plane crashed shortly after take off from Dress regional airport. All 29 on board were killed.

It was determined that poor weather conditions, imporper weight balance, and pilot errors contributed to the crash.

Ironically, one player who did not make the trip due to an ankle injury was killed in an auto accident two weeks after the plane crash.