EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville athletics department has announced that the basketball jersey of Scott Haffner will be retired at the men's basketball game against Southern Illinois next weekend.
 
A ceremony will take place as the Aces play SIU at the Ford Center on Saturday beginning at 7:05 p.m.  The first 1,000 fans at the game receive a Scott Haffner replica jersey t-shirt and special game programs will be sold commemorating his time with the Purple Aces.  The unveiling will take place at halftime.  Haffner is the first UE player to have his jersey retired in the Division I era.
 
"Scott Haffner embodies all that we hope to see in UE graduates. He had a very successful college career and now has added a very successful professional career as an executive at Eli Lilly," UE Athletics Director John Stanley said.  "We are thrilled to be able to honor Scott in this way and hope the many fans that saw him play during his career at UE will come to the game Saturday to help us celebrate this accomplishment."
 
Haffner, who wore jersey #3, played at the University of Evansville from 1986 through 1989 after transferring from the University of Illinois in July of 1985.  He remains sixth on the UE all-time scoring list as he finished with 1,686 points in just three seasons of play.
 
His top moment with the program came on February 18, 1989 when he scored a program-best 65 points in a 109-83 win over Dayton at Roberts Stadium.  He hit 23 out of 29 shots along with 11 3-pointers and 8 free throws.  That game remains as one of the top ten individual efforts in NCAA history.  The 25^th anniversary of that game is Tuesday, February 18, 2014.
 
That season also saw Haffner lead the Aces to the first NCAA Tournament win in the program's Division I history.  On March 17, 1989, he scored a team-best 26 points in leading Evansville to a 94-90 overtime win against Oregon State.  He also scored 20 points in a second-round game versus Seton Hall.
 
Those performances saw him garner numerous accolades in his senior campaign, topped off by being named the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the Year.  Other senior honors included: First Team COSIDA Academic All-America, NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship Recipient, MCC Student-Athlete of the Year, NABC All-District First Team and MCC First Team All-Conference.  He remains one of just three Aces to earn his respective Player of the Year award in the Division I era.
 
"There is not a more deserving teammate, player or person than Scott Haffner," UE head coach Marty Simmons said.  "Scott did it all, earning All-America honors on the court and in the classroom.  He continues to be a great representative of the University of Evansville and the basketball program today.  I was honored to call him a teammate and am even more honored to call him a friend."
 
Following his time at UE, Haffner was selected by the Miami Heat in the second round of the 1989 NBA Draft.  He played two seasons in the NBA, playing 43 games for the Heat as a rookie in the 1989-90 campaign as he averaged 4.6 points per game.  After his rookie campaign, he spent the next season playing for the Charlotte Hornets where he played in seven contests.
 
His post-basketball career has been just as successful as his playing time.  He currently works as a district sales manager with pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly in Indianapolis.  In 2013, Haffner was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame thanks to his illustrious career at Noblesville High School.  He remains close to the program and head coach Marty Simmons to this day and speaks at the yearly character academy prior to each UE basketball season.

"Scott was a spectacular player, is loved by his teammates and coaches, and had a career that warrants a jersey retirement," Haffner's coach at UE Jim Crews said.  "Scott's actions on and off the floor are an example for all. He is a great family man and a great father. Scott Haffner is all class."
 
Haffner becomes just the sixth player in program history to have his jersey retired.  A jersey retirement (jerseys are retired, not numbers) is the top individual honor a UE basketball player can receive from the program. 
 
Below is the full list of players and their years at UE.
 
#19 – Gus Doerner – 1938-42
#40 – Ed Smallwood – 1957-60
#52 – Jerry Sloan – 1962-65
#50 – Larry Humes – 1963-66
#10 – Don Buse – 1969-72
#3 - Scott Haffner - 1986-89