After leading the University of Evansville women’s basketball team to a share of its first Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship this season, UE head coach Tricia Cullop has been named the 2008 Rawlings MVC Coach of the Year in a vote of the league’s head coaches, sports information directors, and media members.

Cullop led Evansville to a share of the MVC’s regular-season title by guiding UE to a 19-10 overall record and 13-5 conference mark.  The regular-season title is the first at UE since the 1987-88 season, and Evansville’s second seed in this week’s State Farm MVC Tournament equals the highest in school history.  UE’s 19 victories rank as the fourth-highest mark in the program’s history, and UE’s 13 Valley victories are the second most in school history for either men or women.

“I?am very honored to receive this award, but I could not be more proud of our players and staff for what they have been able to accomplish this year,”?said Cullop.  “Hopefully, we are far from being done this season.

“Even though this award says ‘Coach of the Year’ on it, this is more of a team and staff award than anything.  I told the team afterwards that this is their award, because if our team and our staff does not put in the hard work that they did this year, than obviously, there is no way that I could be honored with this award.”

The MVC Coach of the Year award for Cullop is the result of eight years of hard work at Evansville, as she has led UE to a 121-108 record as head coach.  She ranks second all-time at UE in career coaching victories, and needs just three more wins to tie Bill Barnett (1984-93) for the school victory record.  Over the last four years, Cullop has turned Evansville into one of the MVC’s top programs, posting a 71-46 record over the last four seasons, which ranks as the best four-year mark in school history.

With the award, Cullop becomes the third UE women’s basketball head coach in school history to win conference “Coach of the Year” honors, joining 1999 MVC Coach of the Year Kathi Bennett and 1988 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year Bill Barnett.

Cullop and the Purple Aces will open up State Farm MVC Tournament play on Friday night at 6:05 p.m. as UE will battle the winner of No. 7 Northern Iowa and No. 10 Wichita State in the MVC quarterfinals at Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri.  Every UE game in the State Farm MVC Tournament can be heard live in the Tri-State on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.  Saturday’s tournament semifinals (1:05 p.m. and 3:35 p.m.) and Sunday’s 2:05 p.m. championship game can also be seen live on Fox Sports Midwest.