As I was preparing for an on alumni meeting tomorrow, there was something about the date that came to my mind. December 13th. Then I remembered. It was 46 years ago when I was still a college undergraduate student when the University of Evansville men's basketball team perished along with others taking a chartered flight to Nashville, Tennessee for a game the next day. Human error was assigned the blame. Some devices were not taken off the plane prior to taking off and the plane had been overloaded with luggage impacting how it could fly in an emergency.
It was the Aces first year playing in Division 1 basketball after a successful past 20 years in Division 2. The team was youthful with at least 5 freshmen on the squad. They also had a new coach who brought in ideas of a new fast break type offensive attack. All that potential and the youthful lives of those players came to an end that night.
I did not hear about the tragedy until I turned on my TV the next day as I prepared to go to my internship job in Indianapolis, Indiana. When on campus, I had been around several of the black players on the team. It was difficult to accept that all of the players were gone. The university and the parents were involved in a financial settlement based on lawsuits filed. The amount of money the families were given seem today as being far less than the value of each person's life. It was not meant for those individuals to have a long life. It's unfortunate, but it is the reality of life. Nothing is promised. For any of the family alive today, we remain sorry for your loss.
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