Nov. 1—INDIANAPOLIS — Very few women’s basketball stars have achieved even a fraction of the celebrity status enjoyed by Caitlin Clark.
One of them is now his 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 White-coached Connecticut Sun.
“As we enter this new era of Fever basketball, I am excited to welcome Stephanie back to the franchise,” Indiana President of Basketball Operations Kelly Krauskopf said in a statement from the team. “Stephanie is part of the fabric of this franchise, both as a former player and as a member of our championship coaching staff, so I’m pretty familiar with her elite basketball IQ and style of leadership.
“I am confident that there is no one who understands our culture better or is better equipped to lead our playing group to the next level.”
White served as the Fever’s assistant coach from 2011 to 2014, a tenure that notably led to the franchise’s only WNBA title in 2012.
She earned 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 was 6-6 in the playoffs, qualifying for the playoffs both years to keep the franchise record of 12 consecutive appearances alive in championship.
White joined Indiana as a player before the franchise’s inaugural season in 2000 — after being drafted in the second round by the now-defunct Charlotte Sting in 1999 — and spent her final four professional 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 at such a pivotal time in this franchise’s history, as well as such an important time in women’s athletics,” said White in the team press release. “This franchise is and will always 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 sixth playoff berth.
Indiana has the WNBA’s two most recent No. 1 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 original architects of the Fever and hired White as head coach in 2015. She moved in 2018 and helped found Pacers Gaming and served as assistant general manager of the Indiana Pacers before returning to the Fever in September, replacing Allison Barber.
Amber Cox was hired to replace Lin Dunn as general manager last month. Dunn now serves as senior advisor to the franchise.
White’s arrival completes an overhaul of the team’s management structure.
She has deep ties to the Hoosier State.
White first rose to prominence as a star at Seeger High School 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 became the state’s all-time leading girls scorer 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 only national title that season.
White’s first coaching job was as an assistant at Ball State in 2003-04.
She began her coaching career in the WNBA as an assistant with the Chicago Sky from 2007 to 2010 and served as the head coach at Vanderbilt from 2016 to 2021.
White coached the Sun the past two seasons, posting a 55-25 overall record and reaching the WNBA semifinals both years. She was named Associated Press Coach of the Year in 2023.
