Former Purple Aces player Jerry Sloan had previously accepted an offer to become the new head coach but left following five days with the team.

[2] The Purple Aces lost their first two games of the season against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the DePaul Blue Demons.

[3] The Purple Aces' only win of the season came in a home game on December 6, 1977, against the Pittsburgh Panthers.

[3] The Purple Aces had been travelling to Nashville, Tennessee, to play the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders when the plane crashed shortly after takeoff from the Evansville Regional Airport and killed all passengers on board.

[6] The only Purple Aces player who was not on the flight, freshman David Furr, was killed in a car accident two weeks later.