University of Evansville Director of Athletics Mark Spencer has announced the appointment of John Andrews as the head men’s and women’s golf coach for the Purple Aces.
Andrews joins the UE program after serving in a similar capacity at IUPUI from 1998 through 2017. In his time with the Jaguars, Andrews directed the team to seven NCAA Regional appearances. A 3-time conference coach of the year honoree, Andrews oversaw three conference championships at IUPUI.
“It is an honor to join the University of Evansville and to be able to take over for Coach (Jim) Hamilton. I have a great deal of respect for what he has done – he was a tremendous college coach and golf instructor,” Andrews exclaimed. “He will be a huge help as we transition.”
“I am ready to get to campus and get started! It is so exciting to be able to work with the student-athletes on both teams – Coach Hamilton has raved about every one of them. We will immediately begin working on setting up our travel, practice and tournament schedules for this season.”
He brings a long history of directing his student-athletes to careers at the professional level. Andrews has directed a slate of current professional players who include: Michael Davan, Jose Pablo Segurola, Santiago Ruiz, Cole Adams and Aneta Abrahamova. IUPUI players who have completed their professional careers feature: Adam Darrow, Kristi O’Brien Moster and Rob van de Vin while Rylan Porter and Sarah Poitras are current PGA members.
After joining the Jaguar program as head coach in 1998, Andrews found success shortly after, leading the men’s team to the Mid-Continent Conference Championship in 2002 while garnering his first Coach of the Year honor. His program accomplished both feats three years later, earning another league crown while being named the top coach in the conference.
While the Mid-Continent Conference rebranded as the Summit League in 2007, Andrews found similar success in 2012, helping his team win another conference championship in a season that culminated in his third Coach of the Year honor. Andrews’ NCAA Regional appearances (with either team or individual) came in 2002, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015. In regular season action, he saw his teams combine for 34 tournament championships including a remarkable total of eight wins in the 2011-12 campaign while posting the best win/loss percentage in the nation. In the first round of the 2012 Summit League Tournament, his team shot a 20-under par for the lowest Division I round of the entire season.
Individual players earned five conference medalist titles under his watch and that success translated into even higher numbers in the classroom. Over the course of his tenure at IUPUI, Andrews had 27 golfers earn Academic All-America Scholar recognition, 127 student-athletes recognized with Academic All-Conference accolades and 308 earn a spot on the Academic Advisors List.
He has been a PGA member since 1995 and was the PGA Teaching Professional at Saddlebrook Golf Club in Indianapolis from 1996 through 1999. His playing career spanned from a junior career all the way through the professional ranks.
His professional career saw him spend time in the PGA Tour School Stage 2, South African PGA Tour and Tour del Pacifico, which is the South American Tour. He was medalist in a PGA Tour Qualifying event in South Africa while taking top honors in the PGA Tournament Series. He is also an Indianapolis Open Champion.
Andrews attended Indiana University where he was the team captain of the men’s golf squad. A 3-time US Amateur participant – Andrews earned two medalist honors while advancing to the quarterfinals in the Western Amateur. Prior to his college career, Andrews was a State High School Champion, a 3-time American Junior Golf Association All-American and the Indiana State Junior Medalist. He participated in two US Junior Amateurs.
“Throughout my time in Indiana, I have always heard about how good of a golf community Evansville is,” Andrews continued. “I have had the privilege of meeting so many who are part of that and I look forward to getting to know them even better while meeting new people in the area.”
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