Author Steve Beaven will discuss his new book, WE WILL RISE: A True Story of Tragedy and Resurrection in the American Heartland on Friday, January 3 at 6pm at Indy Reads.

For two decades the University of Evansville dominated small-college basketball, winning five national titles under the oversight of their charismatic coach, Arad McCutchan, a local icon more famous than the mayor or the governor. When McCutchan retired in 1977, a young coach named Bobby Watson took over as the Purple Aces moved up to Division I. But on the foggy night of December 13, 1977, the unthinkable happened: the entire University of Evansville basketball team and Coach Watson were killed when a plane crashed upon takeoff at the local airport.

The tragedy seemed insurmountable, a devastating blow to the identity of a fading factory town. But as the entire community mourned, the university hired Dick Walters, a hotshot young coach from the Chicago area, who promised to rebuild the cherished institution. Assembling a team of castoffs, walk-ons, and overachievers, Walters restored the legacy of the team and its fans, and led the Aces to the NCAA tournament at the very moment that Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan were making basketball a global phenomenon.

WE WILL RISE: A True Story of Tragedy and Resurrection in the American Heartland (Little A; January 1, 2020), by journalist Steve Beaven, tells the inspiring true story of loss and triumph. It is a tribute to those who were lost and to those who carried on, a rich and powerful story of an underdog team and its fans and the unbreakable spirit of community.