White Comes Back Home to Lead Fever Again in Exciting New Era

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Indiana Fever

White Comes Back Home to Lead Fever Again in Exciting New Era

November 4, 2024 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Indiana Fever News Release


The Indiana Fever introduced a familiar face back to Indy as the franchise's next head coach, Stephanie White, held an introductory press conference in Indianapolis on Monday afternoon. She was joined by new Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Amber Cox as well as Kelly Krauskopf, the Fever's President of Basketball and Business Operations.

White, who played for the Fever through four WNBA seasons (2000-2004), and was an assistant on the coaching staff that won the WNBA Championship in 2012, and served as the head coach of the 2015 Fever team that reached the WNBA Finals, is no stranger to Indiana basketball.

"This is coming home for me," White said on Monday. "It has been such an experience with this franchise for nearly 25 years from day one, and the opportunity to come home and to lead this young, exciting, talented team...It feels like home. And that's because it is, and I am so incredibly honored, so humbled, so thankful, grateful and excited to lead this franchise and take it to another level."

White, the 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year, joins the Fever after spending two years with the Connecticut Sun, boasting a 55-25 record over those two seasons as head coach.

Now she'll be at the helm for the Indiana Fever during a pivotal cultural moment in women's sports.

"It's an exciting time," White said. "Those of us who have been around since day one have been waiting for this moment. We have envisioned this moment...I'm committed to continuing to move the needle for our league. I love this league. I love the game of basketball. I love the challenges that being in this pivotal moment creates, and as a competitor, embrace these opportunities that we have."

The former no. 22 for the Indiana Fever will join the current no. 22 - Caitlin Clark - and company as they strive to bring championship swagger back to Indianapolis. Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Lexie Hull were all present at White's introductory press conference.

White will work with Krauskopf and Cox to construct a roster that compliments Indiana's trio of stars in Clark, Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell.

"We have seen in this league's history how difficult it is to win a championship," White said. "The margin for error is small...When you're building teams, it's not about always just getting the best players. It's about getting the best compliment of players who fit well together, who play well with one another, who work to bring the best out of one another."

White's philosophy on team construction will be top of mind for the front office as the offseason progresses, beginning with the WNBA's expansion draft in December. Indiana seeks to be active as it looks to improve the Fever roster through opportunities surrounding league expansion. Beyond that, Krauskopf is confident that the current well of talent on the roster will draw free agents to the Fieldhouse.

"I think that we are at a point where we have an attractive group, we have a great organization, we can attract a few free agents to come here and bolster and keep us on the path that we're on," Krauskopf said.

Krauskopf also mentioned that the accelerated timeline of success for the Fever called for the change at the head coaching position.

As she evaluated the team in October, Krauskopf said she began to consider how the franchise could utilize its resources and experience to maximize the current roster.

"This is about the next phase in the next era of what we're building here," Krauskopf said. "So, once I got word that Stephanie White could potentially be available, we had some other candidates that we were looking at, and when I had the opportunity to talk with her, it was like fortuitous, you know. I couldn't even believe the timing."

White's career with the Fever began as a player in 2000, but she seeks to usher in a new era of women's basketball during this latest stop in Indiana as the sport explodes behind Clark and the Indiana Fever.

"This is such an incredible moment on a global scale for our game, for our players, for us who have been around for a long time, and I'm embracing this," White said. "I will always embrace it. I don't think any of us will ever take it for granted, because this is what we envisioned, and now we get an opportunity to live it."

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