Original article (Robyn Scherr-Wells Inks Contract Extension with Purple Aces) on the University of Evansville’s athletic website gopurpleaces.com.
With two years of steady improvement to the University of Evansville women’s basketball program, University of Evansville Director of Athletics Ziggy Siegfried has announced a contract extension for head women’s basketball coach Robyn Scherr-Wells.
“Robyn is one of the most driven coaches that I have ever worked with in my career. She has shown a commitment to academics, the student-athlete experience and competitive excellence and her engagement with the campus and community has been fantastic,” Siegfried stated. “Robyn is committed to being at UE and understands that commitment takes time. We are proud to show that commitment to her. I have no doubt that she is a leader who can and will build a championship program.”
In a short amount of time, Scherr-Wells has made significant progress in building the Purple Aces program. The first season under her direction saw the team post its highest amount of wins in five seasons. Her team followed that up with an 11-win campaign last season, which was the marked the first double digit win season and the highest victory total since the 2016-17 season.
“I would like to thank President Pietruszkiewicz, Dr. Siegfried, and Sarah Solinsky for their belief in me and their commitment to Evansville Women’s Basketball. I am grateful to lead the Purple Aces,” Scherr-Wells said. “We have made great strides forward in the last two years, and I am excited to continue to build upon that. When I was hired in 2021, I wanted the job because of the top, private school education that UE offers combined with high mid-major basketball in the MVC.”
“We fit a unique niche in Division I basketball that not many schools can offer, and I am so proud to recruit student-athletes to UE. I will continue to work tirelessly to build UE Women’s Basketball into an MVC championship program!”
Scherr-Wells’ system has led to a much higher pace of play. In four seasons prior to her arrival, UE averaged 59.5 points per game and under. Since she took the helm, the team has averaged 66.1 and 64.6 points, respectively. Her staff has recruited and coached four All-Missouri Valley Conference selections and that success translated to increased attendance and the first sellout in program history.
Off the court, her impact has been just as important. The team GPA for the women jumped from 3.0 in her first season to 3.3 last year. Her efforts have also translated to an increase in fundraising. During the 2022-23 campaign, her program raised over five times the amount of funds as it did in the season prior to her arrival.