The Indiana Fever have hired Stephanie White as the team’s head coach, the team announced Friday.
The Indiana Fever have hired Stephanie White as the team’s head coach, the team announced Friday.
The hiring returns White to Indianapolis, where she was the Fever’s head coach from 2015 to 2016, before she left to run Vanderbilt University’s women’s basketball program.
The Fever, which on Sunday fired second-year head coach Christie Sides after a 20-20 season—and the team’s first playoff appearance since 2016 as a No. 6 seed—was among at least a few teams interested in hiring White, who has deep ties to the organization and the state.
The 2023 WNBA coach of the year became a free agent Monday when she parted ways with the Connecticut Sun following her second season as the team’s head coach. The Sun swept the Fever in the first round of this year’s playoffs, but lost in the semifinals in both of her seasons at the helm.
“As we enter this new era of Fever basketball, I am thrilled to welcome Stephanie back to the franchise,” said Fever President of Basketball Operations Kelly Krauskopf in written remarks. “Stephanie is a part of the fabric of this franchise, both as a former player and as a member of our championship coaching staff, so I’m quite familiar with her elite basketball IQ and leadership style. I am confident there is no one who better understands our culture or is more equipped to lead our group of players to the next level.”
As a coach, White was an assistant at Ball State University and spent three seasons (2011-14) under coach Lin Dunn with the Fever, winning the WNBA title in 2012. She spent two years as head coach of the Fever, making the WNBA Finals in 2015 and qualifying for the playoffs in 2016.
White, 47, had a 55-25 regular season record with the Sun and was 7-7 in the playoffs. Her teams over five seasons at Vanderbilt went 46-83, with a high mark of 14-16 in her first and fourth years; the team’s 2020-2021 season was canceled partway through due to roster issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
As a player, White was the 1995 Indiana Miss Basketball at Seeger High School in West Lebanon and led Purdue University to the 1999 NCAA championship under Dunn. She played five WNBA seasons, including four with the Fever.
White’s return to the Fever has been speculated about on social media for several weeks but became more plausible after the Fever split from Sides. The Chicago Sun-Times reported Sunday that White has been in talks with the Fever and the Chicago Sky about coaching.
The Fever is expected to return most of the team’s core players next season, led by Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark, back-to-back No. 1 picks in the 2023 and 2024 WNBA Drafts, respectively, and winners of the last two WNBA Rookie of the Year awards.
“I am incredibly proud and honored to return home to Indiana and lead the Fever during such a pivotal moment in this franchise’s history, as well as during such an important time throughout women’s athletics,” said White in written comments. “This franchise has and always will be committed to winning and I look forward to working every day to help deliver another WNBA title to the greatest basketball fans in the world.”
In early October, the Fever named veteran sports executive Amber Cox as the team’s new chief operating officer and general manager.
Cox, who spent the past two seasons as chief operating officer of the Dallas Wings, replaced Dunn, who moved into the role of senior adviser to the franchise.
The Fever haven’t had a head coach last for more than three years since Dunn, who coached from 2008-14. Since then, they’ve had White (2015-16), Pokey Chatman (2017-19) and Stanley (2020-22).
As coach of the Fever, White worked under Krauskopf, who led the Indiana Fever as president and general manager from 2000 to 2018 and built the team into one of the league’s most successful franchises, with 13 postseason appearances and three WNBA finals berths in seven years—including a championship in 2012.
Krauskopf returned as president of basketball and business operations for the Fever at the end of the season after spending the last six years as assistant general manager for the Indiana Pacers.
White also has worked in television as a college basketball analyst for ESPN and the Big Ten Network.
