Evansville coach Merfeld resigns

Mar 4, 2007 - 1:35 AM EVANSVILLE, Indiana (Ticker) -- Steve Merfeld has been unable to live up to the expectations at Evansville.

The Purple Aces announced on Saturday that Merfeld resigned from his position as the men's basketball coach after five seasons.

The move comes two days after Evansville (14-17) had its season ended with a 101-96 loss to Drake in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

Despite returning all five starters from the previous season, the Purple Aces were unable to build any momentum in the highly-regarded MVC, placing eighth in the 10-team league with a 6-12 record.

"I regret that Steve will not continue as our men's basketball coach," Evansville athletic director Bill McGillis said. "Unfortunately, for whatever reasons the right set of circumstances have not aligned and resulted in the on-court success that we expected. Steve is a proven winner who, I believe, will achieve great success again. We wish him the very best."

Hired in 2002 after five seasons at Hampton, Merfeld posted a 54-91 record in his tenure with the Purple Aces.

"I am very thankful for the opportunity that the University of Evansville provided me and my family," Merfeld said. "We did experience success in moving this program forward from where it was five years ago."

Evansville, which has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 1999, will begin a search for a new coach immediately, expecting to complete the process by the end of March.

"We have high expectations for our men's basketball program, McGillis said. "Based on our tradition of success, our community's passion for the Purple Aces and college basketball, and the strength of the Missouri Valley Conference, there will be no shortage of outstanding coaches who have strong interest in the position."