Last autumn, Kelly Krauskopf and Mel Reigns met over drinks to discuss the future direction of the Indiana Fever. At that time, Reigns, CEO of Pacers Sports and Entertainment, was seeking guidance from Krauskopf, who had previously served as the Fever’s president and general manager and had built the franchise from the ground up before moving to the Pacers’ front office.
After Allison Barber resigned as Fever president to lead the Marbella Foundation, and Lynn Dunn stepped down as the general manager to enter semi-retirement, Reigns needed to find exceptional leadership to rebuild the WNBA franchise. Their discussions sparked new enthusiasm in Krauskopf, leading Reigns to propose that she return as the Fever president. With decades of experience within the league office, Fever, and Pacers front offices, Krauskopf was the natural fit.
Krauskopf, having spent six years away from women’s basketball, realized through conversations with Reigns and Dunn that she still had so much more to contribute, wanting to give back to the franchise that shaped her career. At 63, she expressed that the WNBA is deeply embedded in her identity.
Krauskopf’s journey began in Corpus Christi, Texas, playing college basketball in the 1980s under vastly different conditions for female athletes, which fueled her determination to uplift women’s sports. She started in the Southwest Conference office before joining the fledgling WNBA league office, helping manage the league’s early operations. Donnie Walsh, then president of the Pacers, recruited her to build the Indiana Fever from scratch in 2000, entrusting her with assembling the team and securing huge fan support before the first season.
Krauskopf led the franchise to 13 playoff appearances, three WNBA Finals, and the 2012 championship as president. Feeling she’d achieved much, she accepted an offer in 2018 to work with the Pacers as assistant GM, gaining experience in the NBA’s complexities. However, her passion for women’s basketball and the Fever eventually drew her back to lead the team again, inspired by the franchise’s growth and recent successes like draft star Caitlin Clark sparking renewed interest.
Back at the Fever, Krauskopf reunited with Stephanie White, a longtime connection from the team’s early days, now the head coach. Together with GM Amber Cox, they revamped the roster focusing on young stars like Kelsey Mitchell and promising rookies despite some recent setbacks with injuries and player departures. Krauskopf’s vision is to build a strong, stable core that can contend for championships within a few years.
This full-circle return showcases Krauskopf as one of the WNBA’s most influential architects, committed to not only rebuilding the Fever but also advancing women’s professional basketball.
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Fan Take: Kelly Krauskopf’s return to the Indiana Fever is a pivotal moment for WNBA fans, as her proven leadership and deep league knowledge bring hope for a strong revival of the franchise. This move underscores the growing recognition and investment in women’s basketball, signaling exciting times ahead for the sport’s competitiveness and visibility.
