History just got rewritten – again. If you guessed Caitlin Clark is the reason, you’re absolutely right. Because once more, she and the WNBA Indiana Fever have broken yet another record, and this one might sting Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky just a little harder. And her reaction is hilarious!

Caitlin Clark’s Fever Boss Sees ‘America’s Team’ Potential

The Fever set numerous financial records in Clark’s rookie season. Is a WNBA title next?Photo by Chet White/Getty Images

Record after record fell during Caitlin Clark’s first year with the Indiana Fever. The WNBA Rookie of the Year, All-WNBA first teamer, Time and AP Athlete of the Year helped the Fever set new marks in attendance, TV ratings, merch sales, social following and more.

But come playoff time, the team’s momentum stalled in a first-round sweep by Connecticut.

So this offseason saw more change. Kelly Krauskopf, who oversaw the roster from Indiana’s first year in 2000 through 2018, returned as president of basketball and business operations. A new COO/GM followed, then coach Stephanie White—who won a title with the Fever as an assistant in 2012, and dispatched Indiana as Sun coach last year—was brought back too.

The new brain trust added four veterans in free agency and traded for a fifth. After a 20-20 campaign in 2024, Indiana enters the season with the third-best WNBA title odds.

“We’re about winning,” Krauskopf said at her introductory press conference. The Fever made 12 straight playoff appearances during her prior tenure. “My plan is to return us to that level of consistency.”

Off-the-court development continued, too. The Fever now lead the WNBA in sponsorship deals with more than 75, according to SponsorUnited data. The team saw record-high interest in season tickets and recently announced a new practice facility set to open in 2027.

“I want this team to be a leader in the country and an enduring brand like Apple,” Krauskopf said.

She remembers the WNBA’s lean years. Franchises folding. Fights for attention and respect. Questions about the league’s viability.

Then 2024 happened. Now what?

Krauskopf spoke with Sportico about the team’s offseason moves, how the business is building off last year’s record-setting trajectory, where the WNBA can go from here and more.

The following conversation has been condensed and edited

Sportico: As you approached free agency and trades this offseason, how involved were the Fever’s franchise players—Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell—in those personnel decisions?

Kelly Krauskopf: You always want to pick the brains of the players. I did it with Tamika Catchings and others. [Catchings, a 10-time All-Star, played with the Fever from 2002 until 2016.] So I think it’s smart business to inform some of your key players of some of the targets that we’re looking at. It’s not necessarily asking for their sign off. It’s more of a, ‘Let’s talk about this together.’

We had great synergy with how we communicated and how we were able to have these conversations. And then we had eager players in our locker room now that wanted to be a part of recruiting, if you will, and talking to players to help bring them to Indianapolis.

Every single player that we brought in, those were all intentional moves to add to what we see and what we envision as a successful blueprint.

Sportico: How did the looming CBA negotiations impact roster management?

Krauskopf: It’s not unusual. We’ve been through it before, and I think everybody in the league understood that these were all going to be short-term deals, and we’ll be right back at it again.

It was our opportunity to really try to put together a group of players that were pretty hungry to win, maybe to prove something for themselves as individual players, and that wanted to be here. Those were three important factors, and knowing that, once we get that going, we have a good season, we’ll be able to attract more players next year.

We’re going to be offering players … probably an experience that no other female athlete has had.

Fever president Kelly Krauskopf

Sportico: In January, the Fever announced a $78 million practice facility, set to open in 2027. How did that project come together?

Krauskopf: We’ve always had our own practice space [inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse]. We’ve always had our own year-round locker room and strength and performance area, but we’ve outgrown it. We’re not ashamed of what we have, [but] there’s an opportunity to really grow and expand upon that.

And what’s fun is that the players can help be involved in some of the planning. We’re going to be picking their brain on what goes into it.

The amenities that we’re going to be offering players—from lifestyle to basketball performance, training and wellness—is going to be top of the line. And I think probably an experience that no other female athlete has had.

We’re being very thoughtful and building out a space that is about the complete player, and then the complete person. Everything from podcast rooms to content studios to salons, spa recovery area.

Sportico: There’s a spotlight on your players in particular, both in-person and online. What sense have you gotten of that over these last few months, compared to your expectations when you took the job?

Krauskopf: I think the players around the league know the spotlight is on the Indiana Fever. We’re in a moment of high spotlight, minute to minute. Partially that’s just the age that we live in.

A lot of players, because of their own sponsorship deals, they have to sort of live in that [online] space.

We can’t control what people say and how that’s portrayed, but we want to provide our players with mental health help if they need it. We have a sports psychologist, and we have other extensions of mental health professionals in our market to help our male or female athletes, to be honest.

You have to be careful about how much you consume and how much you live in that space. We’re going to be there for them, and we’re going to do this together.

I mean, can you be ‘America’s Team?’ I think there’s a lot that goes into that. I don’t take that lightly, but I think we had attendees from 29 states around the country, and a couple from around the world that came to Indiana to see our team. And we expect that to continue.

Fever president Kelly Krauskopf

Sportico: At your introductory press conference, you mentioned thinking about the Fever as like an Apple-type company. I don’t think you said the words ‘America’s Team’, but I got that sense. What did you mean by that?

Krauskopf: There’s this huge, new generation of basketball fans that have come into our building and that have consumed the Fever. Only about 5% of our attendees went to a Pacers game, for instance. A third of our attendees were from outside the state of Indiana.

We’ve got national reach. And once you know that, I mean, can you be ‘America’s Team?’ I think there’s a lot that goes into that. I don’t take that lightly, but I think we had attendees from 29 states around the country, and a couple from around the world that came to Indiana to see our team. And we expect that to continue. Look, we’re going to have a supply and demand issue.

Sportico: Has the ticketing strategy evolved given that demand?

Krauskopf: We’ve just finished, really, with our renewals and our upgrades and seats. The waitlist for new season ticket holders is at an all-time high.

Then the rest are just going to be single-game tickets and very little group sales. In the old days in the WNBA, we sold a lot of groups sales plans, and we just don’t have room for that now. People want seats for the entire season. It’s been just really a full turn from two years ago.

Sportico: How are you thinking about growing the W compared to growing the Fever? What’s the balance there?

Krauskopf: There was a brand study released in December. The WNBA was the fastest-growing brand among adults in the U.S., ahead of Ben and Jerry’s and other consumer product brands.

We don’t have results of extensive Fever brand research, but if your league is the fastest-growing brand in the country, then that helps all of us.

If you think about the Yankees and the Lakers and teams that have been in business for a long time, you have to have a great team first. You have to be in the conversation every year. So my goal is to make sure we will be as competitive as we were for 16 to 17 years with Tamika Catchings. We were always in the conversation.

But the country wasn’t ready yet to embrace women’s basketball and some of the women that played during that generation. So now they are, and now there’s this appetite from corporate sponsors who understand the value around women athletes and women’s sports teams.

Sportico: What are your goals on the business side for this season?

Krauskopf: Overall, I think your biggest opportunity is to create a sustaining business model where you have partners with you for multiple years. We continue to look for ways to create revenue streams so that everybody can enjoy the success of this league and this team.

I think our opportunities really lie in content and storytelling. … There’s an untapped area there that we know exists and that we’re going to really look at.

We want to be a leader in that space, our entire company of Pacers Sports & Entertainment. So I don’t know exactly what that looks like, but it’s something that we are looking very closely at.

We want to make sure this isn’t just one moment, that there’s sustainability to the growth.

Fever president Kelly Krauskopf

Sportico: At the league level, what are the biggest challenges you foresee in taking advantage of and continuing this trajectory?

Krauskopf: We want to make sure this isn’t just one moment, that there’s sustainability to the growth. I do think positive change has occurred with expanding the WNBA Finals to seven games, giving your home fans a chance to see you at least once in a playoff series, and growing the season footprint to 44 games. The longer you’re in the market, and the longer you’re playing, the more you’re relevant in people’s lives. There’s more opportunity for your product and for your players to be in the American sports landscape. I think that’s incredibly important.

Sportico: You obviously share a building with the Pacers. How much bigger can the season’s footprint get?

Krauskopf: I think there’s room to grow. It’s important, as you grow as a national league. We’ve got more teams coming into the league; we’re going to be at 16 teams soon. So you need more times for people to come and see you play, and more television windows.

For me personally, just to be able to come back and live through that and see it and experience it is—it’s almost surreal.

Fever president Kelly Krauskopf

Sportico: What should fans expect from the Fever this year?

Krauskopf: I think you’re going to see a very hungry group of players. First, this is an extremely competitive group—that’s number one. Everybody likes to talk about it, but these players really are about that. They’re extremely competitive. They love the game.

And then from a style standpoint, we added players that like to play up-tempo, that like to get out and run, score in transition. And I think you’re going to continue to see a fast-paced, really fun environment of basketball on the court that leads to a lot of scoring, a lot of fast-paced play.

Sportico: On a personal note, what do you expect to feel on opening night, when you see everything you’ve been building for a long time and everything you all have built over the last few months come together for the first time?

Krauskopf: I was able to get to several games last year. I will say, watching from when Caitlin was a junior at Iowa, and then as a senior, and then watching it in our own building, many times it was a very surreal moment. And so much pride.

We’re talking 25 years of growing and sort of scrapping and clawing, if you will—several years that were really tough years. I give Herb Simon and our ownership group all the credit. I mean, they’ve just hung in there. We knew this [level of interest] was coming at some point, it was just going to take a flashpoint moment, and that’s really what we’ve had.

For me personally, just to be able to come back and live through that and see it and experience it is—it’s almost surreal.