Siegfried joins the Purple Aces program from CSU Bakersfield

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Turning the page into a new era of Purple Aces athletics, University of Evansville President Christopher M. Pietruszkiewicz announced the hiring of Dr. Kenneth “Ziggy” Siegfried as the new Director of Athletics. Siegfried will officially be introduced today at a 2:00 p.m. press conference inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

“I have been delighted with our partnership with Turnkey. They listened to our campus community and especially our student athletes, attracting a world class pool of candidates,” said Pietruszkiewicz. “We hired a leader with a proven track record of success for our athletic department, our University, and our community. We said we would hire the right person for UE — and we did.”

Siegfried joins the University of Evansville from California State University Bakersfield (CSUB) where he has served as the Director of Athletics and Associate Vice President for Student Affairs since August of 2015. In his role at CSUB, Siegfried has successfully led an athletic program that is comprised of 16 varsity sports programs with over 300 student-athletes and 90 employees. One of the highlights of his tenure at CSUB was when he succeeded in securing an invitation for CSUB to join the Big West Conference.

“It is an honor to join the University of Evansville, the athletic department, and the Evansville community. This is a special place with a great deal of potential,” Siegfried said. “I would like to thank President Pietruszkiewicz for presenting me with this opportunity. My appreciation also goes out to the advisory committee and TurnkeyZRG.”

Siegfried transformed the athletic department during his tenure at CSUB through the development of a new strategic plan, the creation of a comprehensive master facilities plan, and the commencement of a variety of major construction projects. Under his direction, CSUB generated the largest amount of revenue in the history of the department while achieving high ticket sales and securing significant donations and corporate sponsorships.

Putting an emphasis on academics is a pivotal part of Siegfried’s blueprint. During his tenure, CSUB set records in Graduation Success Rates (GSR), departmental GPAs, and Academic Progress Rates (APR). Siegfried has also been active at the university, conference, and national level throughout his career. On a national level, he serves on the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA) Board and is in his third year serving on the NCAA Accelerating Academic Success Program Committee.

At the conference level, he serves on the Big West Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, the D1-AAA Athletics Directors Association Scholar-Athlete Team Committee and has served on the conference championships committee for both the Western Athletic Conference and the Big West Conference.

“I am excited to lead a talented group of student-athletes, coaches, and staff members as we strive to be the best at what we do in the classroom, in competition, and in the community. Together, we will strive to give our student-athletes an experience that is second to none,” Siegfried added. “The Purple Aces are Evansville’s team, and we are going to actively engage our community from day one. My wife, my children, and I are excited to call Evansville home.”

Prior to his arrival in Bakersfield, Siegfried worked at the University of Memphis for eight years on the Senior Staff within the Athletics Department while serving on the University fundraising leadership team during a successful $250 million campaign. During his time at U of M, Siegfried helped to raise $16 million that went into the transformation of the athletic facilities.

Siegfried attended the University of Memphis where he earned a bachelor’s degree in education and sports management in 2003. He earned his Master of Science in sports administration from Middle Tennessee State University in 2004 and completed his Doctor of Education from the University of Memphis in 2019. A native of Memphis, Siegfried and his wife, Karen, have five children: William, Samuel, Caroline, Miriam, and their late sister Delilah.

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Golf concluded a magnificent run in the post-season to place 10th in NCAA Division II Midwest/Central Regional at Purgatory Golf Course in Noblesville, Indiana.
 
Following a strong 36-holes in the regional, the Screaming Eagles faltered in the final 18 holes, dropping from a tie for sixth to 10th with final round 307 and finished their first NCAA post-season appearance since 2000 with a three-round 903 (299-297-307). The team 903 broke USI’s best NCAA II Regional mark of 904 (295-306-303) set in 1996 when the Eagles placed second.
 
The 18^th-ranked University of Central Missouri won the regional with a three-round 884 (288-293-303). USI, which had moved as high as fifth in the standings this weekend, led as many as eight of the 11 ranked at many points during the three rounds.
 
USI was led individually by junior Zach Williams (Mt. Vernon, Illinois), who tied for 11th with three-round 220 (72-74-74) and was one stroke shy of the top 54-holes by an Eagle in the NCAA II post-season. Ben Robak set the mark of 219 (74-70-75) in 1996 when he won the NCAA II Regional.
 

Regular season finale set for Sunday at noon

 

VALPARAISO, Ind. – Izzy Vetter tossed an 8-inning complete game to help the University of Evansville softball team split Saturday’s doubleheader at Valparaiso.  After dropping the opener by a 5-1 final, the Purple Aces rebounded to take the second game, 2-1.

Game One – Valparaiso 5, UE 1

Valparaiso plated a pair of runs in the first and second innings to open the day with a 5-1 victory.  Jaina Westphal opened the scoring with a home run in the bottom half of the first before the Beacons added an unearned run.  Evansville countered with a run in the top of the second to cut the VU lead in half.  Haley Woolf reached on an error and would score on an RBI single by Jenna Nink.

The Beacons scored two more in the second when Lauren Kehlenbrink had a 2-RBI double.  They tacked on one more in the fifth to take the 5-1 win.  Easton Seib picked up the win, allowing one run on four hits in the complete game.

Game Two – UE 2, Valparaiso 1

Up by a 1-0 score for the majority of the game, the Aces fended off a late rally by the Beacons to take a 2-1 win in eight innings to split the two Saturday contests.  Evansville scored its first run in the top of the second.  Jessica Fehr recorded a leadoff double and moved to third on a single by Alyssa Barela.  Hannah Hood laid down a perfect bunt single to bring in Fehr and give the Aces a 1-0 lead.

Over the next four innings, Izzy Vetter allowed just three hits to keep Valpo scoreless, but that changed in the sixth when Lauren Kehlenbrink posted an RBI single to tie the game.  The Beacons threatened with a hit in the seventh, but Vetter kept things tied up as the game headed to extras.  It was Fehr drawing the leadoff walk before moving to second on a sacrifice by Haley Woolf before scoring on a wild pitch.  In the bottom of the 8^th, Vetter kept the Beacons scoreless to secure her 15^th victory of the season.  She scattered seven hits over eight innings and struck out six.  UE had four hits.

On Sunday, the teams will square off for the regular season finale at 12 p.m.