White returns to Fever as head coach

Nov. 1—INDIANAPOLIS — Very few women’s basketball stars have achieved even a fraction of the celebrity status Caitlin Clark enjoys.

One of them is now her head coach.

The Indiana Fever announced Friday that Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer Stephanie White will return to the franchise to replace Christie Sides.

Sides was fired Sunday after two seasons that included the Fever’s first playoff appearance since 2016. Indiana’s season ended with a first-round sweep against the Connecticut Sun, coached by White.

“As we enter this new era of Fever basketball, I am thrilled to welcome Stephanie back to the franchise,” Indiana president of basketball operations Kelly Krauskopf said in a team release. “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.”

White was an assistant coach with the Fever from 2011-14, a stint that included the franchise’s only WNBA title in 2012.

She got her first head coaching job with Indiana in 2015 and led the team to the WNBA Finals in her first season.

White was 37-31 in two seasons overall with the Fever and went 6-6 in the playoffs, qualifying for the postseason in both years to keep the franchise’s league record of 12 straight appearances alive.

White joined Indiana as a player prior to the franchise’s inaugural season in 2000 — after being drafted in the second round by the defunct Charlotte Sting in 1999 — and spent her final four pro seasons with the Fever.

She ranks among the top 20 players in franchise history in games played (112), assists (225), steals (115) and 3-pointers made (92).

“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,” White said in the team release. “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.”

The Fever finished 20-20 last season — the highest win total since White’s first season as head coach — and earned the No. 6 seed in the playoffs.

Indiana has the two most recent WNBA No. 1 overall draft picks and rookies of the year — Clark (2024) and center Aliyah Boston (2023) — on the roster and spent the offseason remaking the franchise.

Krauskopf was among the 0riginal architects of the Fever and hired White as head coach in 2015. She moved on in 2018 and helped found Pacers Gaming and served as the Indiana Pacers assistant general manager before returning to the Fever in September, replacing Allison Barber.

Amber Cox was hired to replace Lin Dunn as general manager last month. Dunn is moving into a role as a senior advisor with the franchise.

White’s addition completes an overhaul of the team’s management structure.

She has deep ties to the Hoosier State.

White first gained prominence as a high school star at Seeger in West Lebanon. She was named Miss Basketball in 1995 and also earned USA Today and Gatorade national player of the year honors that season.

She graduated as the state’s all-time leading scorer for girls with 2,869 career points and set a single-game state record of 66 points.

White was named the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Player of the Year at Purdue in 1999 and led the Boilermakers to their lone national title that season.

White’s first coaching job was as an assistant at Ball State in 2003-04.

She began her WNBA coaching career as an assistant with the Chicago Sky from 2007-10 and served as the head coach at Vanderbilt from 2016-21.

White coached the Sun for the past two seasons, posting an overall record of 55-25 and reaching the WNBA semifinals both years. She was named The Associated Press Coach of the Year in 2023.