Elite Eight: A bit of Evansville basketball history

Tarleton and Malcolm Hamilton are among the Elite Eight in NCAA Division II, which includes 319 men's basketball teams. || Photo by RUSSELL HUFFMAN/TheFlashToday.com

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(March 24, 2015) — Being in the Hoosier state, it comes as no surprise Evansville, Indiana has a rich basketball history. Here are a few historic tidbits concerning Evansville, shared by NCAA Division II Elite Eight Media Coordinator Roy Pickerill.

-2015 marks the 59th year of the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball “Elite Eight” Championship.

-The “Elite Eight” started in March 1957 at Evansville’s Roberts Stadium as the NCAA College Division Championship.

-The city of Evansville has hosted this championship for 22 years from 1957 to 1976, 2002, 2014 and 2015.

-Basketball Hall of Fame inductees and NBA legends former Los Angeles Lakers head coach and the president of the New York Knicks Phil Jackson, former Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan, and San Antonio Spurs George Gervin plus other stars played in this Elite Eight right here in Evansville. Sloan won back-to-back championships in 1964 and 1965.

This is just a brief history lesson on Division II basketball and Evansville.