About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An important offseason for the Indiana Fever is beginning with a front-office shakeup.
Fever president Kelly Krauskopf is stepping down after three decades with the team's parent organization, Pacers Sports & Entertainment, the Fever announced in a statement Friday. Krauskopf, who spent the past three seasons as president, informed leadership of her decision before the end of the 2026 regular season.
The Fever will have a new voice at the head of the table as they pursue the re-signing of unrestricted free agent Kelsey Mitchell, who finished third in WNBA MVP balloting and has cast doubt on her return to the only franchise she's played for, as well as a contract extension for All-Star guard Caitlin Clark. The team also plans to open a state-of-the-art, $78 million sports performance center before the start of the 2027 season.
"It has been an honor and a privilege to help build and steward the Indiana Fever with the support and trust of Herb Simon," Krauskopf said in the release, referencing the owner of PS&E. "I am deeply grateful for the opportunities, relationships, and shared accomplishments that have shaped my time with this organization."
Krauskopf joined PS&E in 1999 — just before the Fever's inaugural season in 2000 — and served as the franchise's original president and general manager. She shifted to assistant general manager for the Indiana Pacers in 2018, becoming the first woman in NBA history to have an executive management role. She returned to the Fever as team president in 2024 — one year after the team selected current All-Star center Aliyah Boston with the No. 1 pick, which was followed by selecting Clark No. 1 in the 2024 draft.
Those two players, along with Mitchell, formed the foundation upon which the Fever expected to build a championship-caliber club. However, in her exit interview earlier this month following a first-round playoff loss to the Las Vegas Aces, Mitchell indicated that she might seek a fresh start elsewhere, given the spotlight and pressures of playing in Indiana — prompting questions about the league's perception of the organization that could complicate the title ambitions.
"Showing up every day to compete for fans that may or may not like you is hard," Mitchell said then. "I think this organization is unbelievable, man, but I think that when it comes to, like, really trying to be yourself, it hasn't always been easy."
Krauskopf led the development of one of the Fever's most important countermeasures: a 108,000-square-foot practice facility across the street from Gainbridge Fieldhouse, set to open next spring. The building will include everything from two full practice courts to individual locker pods to hydrotherapy equipment to a salon and a golf simulator, and the Fever hope it will be a separator for what the club can offer in terms of player experience.
As she led a media tour of the still-under-construction facility during the first round of the WNBA playoffs, Krauskopf underlined both its utility and symbolism.
"We're ready to take the next leap," she said then. "This is world-class. I don't see another building like this."
This article originally appeared in The Athletic .
Source: Sports
0 Comments