USI and the University of Evansville in 2 Days: An Evansville, Indiana College Drive Trip
A parent-first plan for visiting the University of Southern Indiana and the University of Evansville in one Evansville, Indiana trip: how each school's weekday and Saturday visits work and where to sign up, free visitor parking at both campuses, UE's $1,000 Visit Scholarship, three Evansville hotels from budget to upscale, drive times from Evansville Regional and from Louisville and Nashville, USI's public campus trails for siblings, and Evansville weather by season, every fact sourced and checked Oct 30, 2026.
Olmsted Administration Hall at the University of Evansville in Evansville, Indiana, home of the Office of Admission (December 2011). Photo: Nyttend · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped
Last checked Oct 30, 2026. Every fact comes from the pages listed in Sources at the bottom. Some hotel and tour links are affiliate links (disclosure).
The short version
Trip at a glance
Schools
University of Southern Indiana (Evansville, IN) · University of Evansville (Evansville, IN)
Days
2 days: USI on day 1 and UE on day 2, from one downtown Evansville hotel. The two campuses are about 16 minutes apart by car.
Fly into
Evansville Regional (EVV), about 19 minutes from downtown Evansville with no traffic. Louisville (SDF) is about 2 hours 31 minutes away and Nashville (BNA) about 3 hours 4 minutes if you'd rather drive in.
Best base
Hyatt Place Evansville downtown, about 7 minutes by car from UE's Olmsted Administration Hall and 12 minutes from USI's Fuquay Welcome Center, with free breakfast.
Car or no car
Bring or rent a car. USI sits about 7 miles west of downtown, and both campuses have free visitor parking.
Registration
Book each visit on the school's own sign-up calendar: USI for weekday or Saturday visits, UE for an individual visit.
1. Who this guide is for
This plan is for parents bringing a high schooler, and maybe younger siblings, to see two very different schools in one city: the University of Southern Indiana, home of the Screaming Eagles, and the University of Evansville, home of the Purple Aces.
USI sits on a 1,400-acre campus on the west side of Evansville, while UE's campus is on Lincoln Avenue, about 3 miles from downtown. The photo in this guide shows UE's Olmsted Administration Hall, where UE visits begin.
Why this order
Day 1: visit USI, starting at the Fuquay Welcome Center, about 12 minutes from downtown Evansville with no traffic.
Day 2: visit UE, starting at the Office of Admission in Olmsted Administration Hall, about 7 minutes from downtown, then fly home from Evansville Regional, about 18 minutes away.
One hotel works for both days, since the campuses are only about 16 minutes apart by car.
Plan ahead: registration and timing
USI offers weekday and Saturday visits that include a session on the USI experience and admission process, a walking campus tour, and a look at residence halls and on-campus housing. Pick a date and time on USI's sign-up calendar.
UE builds each individual visit around your student: list interests and goals in the notes of the request form, and the visit can include time with an admission counselor, a campus tour and a meeting with a professor. Saturday visits include only a group tour and group admission session.
UE offers a $1,000 Visit Scholarship, renewable for up to $4,000 over four years, to students entering UE for the first time in 2027-28 who complete an in-person individual visit with a guided tour and admission counselor session, or a group visit day. High school seniors must visit by May 1, 2027.
Both schools also run group events: USI's Open Houses and academic event days, and UE's Purple Visit Days, which are usually on Fridays or school holidays. Dates and registration are on each school's events page.
If bad weather closes USI, its tours are canceled, with closures posted on USI's homepage.
Tour availability varies by season.
Summer is warm: July averages about 89°F highs and 69°F lows at the Evansville Regional Airport station.
Winter is cold: January averages about 42°F highs and 26°F lows, with about 3.4 inches of snow.
Spring is the wettest stretch, with about 5.1 inches of rain in both April and May, so pack an umbrella.
Check both athletics schedules before you book, since home games bring extra traffic to campus.
2. The suggested 2-day plan
Drive times are no-traffic estimates from OpenStreetMap routing, with addresses geocoded by OpenStreetMap Nominatim. Campus times are to USI's Fuquay Welcome Center and UE's Olmsted Administration Hall, where each school's visits start.
Arrival: fly or drive into Evansville and check in downtown
Evansville Regional Airport (EVV) → Hyatt Place Evansville
Driving (no traffic)
~19 min, 8.5 mi
Driving
Rental car
Evansville Regional Airport (EVV) → Hampton Inn Evansville/Airport
Driving (no traffic)
~9 min, 2.8 mi
Driving
Rental car
Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) → Hyatt Place Evansville
Driving (no traffic)
~2 hr 31 min, 127.8 mi
Driving
Rental car
Nashville International Airport (BNA) → Hyatt Place Evansville
Driving (no traffic)
~3 hr 4 min, 158.3 mi
Driving
Rental car
USI notes that Evansville Regional has daily flights to major hub cities. The Hampton Inn near the airport offers a free airport shuttle on request, according to Expedia.
Day 1: University of Southern Indiana
Hyatt Place Evansville → USI Fuquay Welcome Center
Driving (no traffic)
~12 min, 6.8 mi
Driving
Drive
DoubleTree by Hilton Evansville → USI Fuquay Welcome Center
Driving (no traffic)
~12 min, 6.8 mi
Driving
Drive
Hampton Inn Evansville/Airport → USI Fuquay Welcome Center
Driving (no traffic)
~19 min, 11.8 mi
Driving
Drive
The Fuquay Welcome Center is right along University Boulevard as you drive into campus. USI is on Highway 62 (the Lloyd Expressway) west of downtown, and you enter campus via an overpass off the expressway.
If your student wants to see campus apartments, that optional stop means following an admissions representative in your own car.
Day 2: University of Evansville, then head home
Hyatt Place Evansville → UE Olmsted Administration Hall
Driving (no traffic)
~7 min, 2.8 mi
Driving
Drive
DoubleTree by Hilton Evansville → UE Olmsted Administration Hall
Driving (no traffic)
~6 min, 2.4 mi
Driving
Drive
Hampton Inn Evansville/Airport → UE Olmsted Administration Hall
Driving (no traffic)
~11 min, 5.1 mi
Driving
Drive
UE Olmsted Administration Hall → Evansville Regional Airport (EVV)
Driving (no traffic)
~18 min, 7.7 mi
Driving
Drive
Enter campus from Lincoln Avenue. Olmsted Administration Hall sits in the middle of the oval parking lot, and the Office of Admission is just inside, in Room 104.
Visits start at the Fuquay Welcome Center, 8600 University Blvd., along University Boulevard as you drive into campus.
Student Ambassadors lead the tours. A visit covers the USI experience and admission process, a walking tour of academic and dining facilities, and a tour of residence halls, the fitness center and the arena. Depending on the day's volume, the admission talk may be one-on-one or a small group.
Saturday visits combine the admission session and a walking tour with residence halls, the fitness center and the arena.
Visitor parking
Visitors may park in any campus lot that isn't signed as reserved. Visitor lots are marked on USI's campus map.
University Housing apartment complexes are different: there, visitors park only in marked visitor spaces during posted visiting hours.
Getting there
From Interstate 64, take U.S. 41 south to Evansville, then go west on the Lloyd Expressway about 8 miles to campus and follow the USI signs.
Campus is about 27 minutes by car from Evansville Regional (EVV) with no traffic.
What to know
USI's campus trails are open to the public from dawn to dusk, including the paved, 3-mile USI-Burdette Trail and the 1-mile Bent Twig Trails, with sandstone stream beds and two small waterfalls.
Can't make the trip yet? USI also has a virtual tour, linked on its visit page.
Contact
USI Undergraduate Admissions: enroll@usi.edu, 812-464-1765, open Monday through Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Central. To cancel or reschedule a visit, email enroll@usi.edu or call 812-465-7056.
Last checked Oct 30, 2026. Tour and admissions details change often, so confirm them on the school's official visit page before you go.
Olmsted Administration Hall at the University of Evansville in Evansville, Indiana, home of the Office of Admission (December 2011). Photo: Nyttend · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped
Your visit begins in the Office of Admission, inside Olmsted Administration Hall (Room 104), at the middle of the oval parking lot as you enter campus from Lincoln Avenue.
An individual visit can include talking with your admission counselor, touring campus and meeting a professor. You can also add appointments with offices such as Career Development, Esports, and Harlaxton and Study Abroad.
Visitor parking
Visitor parking is on the top portion of the oval drive next to Olmsted Administration Hall, plus the outer curb of the oval drive from the crosswalk in front of the Koch Center for Engineering and Science to Olmsted.
Getting there
Olmsted Administration Hall is about 18 minutes by car from Evansville Regional (EVV) and about 16 minutes from USI with no traffic.
What to know
Purple Visit Days are group visits with a campus tour, sessions for students and parents, a meeting with your academic interest area and lunch at The Eatery.
Can't make the trip yet? UE also has a virtual tour of classrooms, the library, the student center and a dorm room.
Contact
UE Office of Admission: admission@evansville.edu, 812-488-2468. Room 104, Olmsted Administration Hall, 1800 Lincoln Ave., Evansville, IN 47722.
Last checked Oct 30, 2026. Tour and admissions details change often, so confirm them on the school's official visit page before you go.
4. Where to stay: downtown Evansville and near the airport
Price tiers (Budget, Mid-range, Upscale) follow each hotel's star class on Expedia. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
Hotel · Our pickMid-range
Hyatt Place Evansville
202 SE 2nd St., Evansville, IN 47713
Why here
It's downtown, about 7 minutes by car from UE and 12 minutes from USI with no traffic, and it's on USI's list of hotels for visitors.
Expedia lists this hotel as a 3-star property, so we place it in the Mid-range tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
Good to know
Expedia lists a free continental breakfast, an indoor pool, a restaurant, self-parking for a fee, pets for a fee and a minimum check-in age of 21. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
Expedia lists this hotel as a 4-star property, so we place it in the Upscale tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
It's downtown, about 6 minutes by car from UE and 12 minutes from USI with no traffic, and it's on USI's list of hotels for visitors.
Good to know
Expedia lists a seasonal outdoor pool, on-site restaurants, breakfast for a fee, self-parking for a fee, dogs for a fee and a minimum check-in age of 21. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
Expedia lists this hotel as a 2.5-star property, so we place it in the Budget tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
It's about 9 minutes from the airport and 11 minutes from UE by car with no traffic, and UE lists it as a partner hotel for visitors.
Good to know
Expedia lists a free buffet breakfast, an indoor pool, a free airport shuttle on request, free self-parking, pets for a fee and a minimum check-in age of 21. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
Hyatt Place and the DoubleTree are both downtown, between the two campuses and about 12 minutes from USI. The Hampton Inn is the easy pick for a late arrival or early flight, since it's about 9 minutes from the airport. Both USI and UE list hotels that offer visitor rates, so ask each school about them.
5. Meals between tours
Hours change, so check before you go.
At the hotels
Hyatt Place and the Hampton Inn include breakfast, and the DoubleTree has on-site restaurants and serves breakfast for a fee.
6. Things for siblings along the route
With siblings
USI-Burdette Trail
Starts on University Blvd. on the USI campus, Evansville, IN
A paved, 3-mile trail for walking, biking and running, built with nearby Burdette Park and named a National Recreation Trail. Trailheads are near the USI Baseball Field and Lot M behind Ruston Hall, and USI's trails are open to the public from dawn to dusk.
At USI, head for the Fuquay Welcome Center on University Boulevard and park in any lot not signed as reserved. At UE, park on the oval drive next to Olmsted Administration Hall.
Flying in and out
Evansville Regional (EVV) is about 18 minutes from UE and 27 minutes from USI with no traffic. Louisville (SDF) and Nashville (BNA) are about 2.5 to 3 hours by car from downtown Evansville.
Weather by season (1991–2020 NOAA normals: Evansville Regional Airport station)
Spring: April averages about 68°F highs and 46°F lows, with about 5.1 inches of rain; May warms to about 77°F/57°F.
Summer: July averages about 89°F/69°F, with about 4.4 inches of rain; August is the driest month at about 3.1 inches.
Fall: October averages about 70°F/47°F, and November cools to about 56°F/37°F.
Winter: January averages about 42°F/26°F, with about 3.4 inches of snow; December and February each get about 3 inches.
Parent checklist
Book a USI weekday or Saturday visit on USI's sign-up calendar.
Request a UE individual visit, and list your student's interests in the form's notes so UE can build the day.
If your student may apply to UE, make sure the visit counts for the Visit Scholarship: an in-person individual visit with a guided tour and admission counselor session, or a group visit day.
Book flights into Evansville Regional, or plan the drive from Louisville or Nashville, and a rental car.
Book an Evansville hotel.
Save the Fuquay Welcome Center and Olmsted Administration Hall in your map app.
After each visit, take five minutes to jot down what stood out to your student.
8. Student-athlete recruiting visits
For families whose student hopes to play a college sport. Rules below are the NCAA's; each school's links were checked Oct 26, 2026.
Coaches arrange the recruiting part of a visit, not the admissions office. The tour sign-ups in this guide are for the regular family visit. An official (school-paid) visit is offered by the school, and contact with coaches follows NCAA rules that vary by division, sport and grade level.
Start with your sport's questionnaire, then email the coaches. The NCAA suggests emailing coaches with your achievements, highlight videos and interest in their program, including your name, position, NCAA ID and graduation year.
2 Division I
Athletics
University of Southern Indiana
NCAA Division I Ohio Valley Conference
RecruitingWe found no department-wide recruiting page. Look for a questionnaire on your sport's team page at the athletics site ↗, or email the coaches.
RecruitingWe found no department-wide recruiting page. Look for a questionnaire on your sport's team page at the athletics site ↗, or email the coaches.
Unofficial visit: any campus visit you or your family pay for. You can take as many as you like; in Divisions I and II each one has to come after the first permissible date for your sport.
Official visit: a visit paid for by the school. Each school can offer your student only one. Before a Division I official visit, your student must be registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center, be on the school's institutional request list, and the school must have their high school transcripts.
Division I (University of Southern Indiana and University of Evansville): on an official visit the school can pay for travel for the student and up to two family members, lodging, up to three meals a day for the student and up to four family members, and up to $60 a person in entertainment, including five home-game tickets. On an unofficial visit there are no free meals, but the school can give up to three home-game tickets. Division I uses recruiting calendars with contact, evaluation, quiet and dead periods; in a dead period, no in-person contact and no visits.
Rules change. Confirm with the coach, or check the NCAA's recruiting page and recruiting calendars, before you plan dates.
Planning around the season
Check each school's athletics schedule (linked above) before you pick dates, so a coach meeting doesn't land on a road trip or game day for your sport.
Our recommendation, not a school rule: ask the coach whether they can line up an admissions session or tour around your meeting. If not, book the regular family tour yourself through the official sign-up links in this guide, and leave time between the two.
Add your dates and how you're getting there, and we'll pull this guide into one plan: tour sign-up links, the hotel base, parking or airport notes, the route and meals.
Coming soon
Planning more college trips?
Visit-season reminders and new trip guides from College Visit Guides. Newsletter coming soon.
Sources
All checked Oct 30, 2026. Tour schedules change constantly, so always confirm on each school's official sign-up page. Photo credits are under each photo and on our About page.
