Indiana Fever founding president and general manager Kelly Krauskopf is stepping down after nearly three decades with Pacers Sports & Entertainment, the company announced Friday.
Krauskopf joined PS&E in 1999, a year before the Fever’s inaugural season in 2000.
During her time with the Fever, she helped lead the expansion franchise to three trips to the WNBA Finals and the 2012 championship.
Krauskopf also worked with the Pacers as their assistant general manager from 2018-24, becoming the first woman to hold an executive basketball management role in the NBA’s history, before returning to the Fever as their president of basketball and business operations.
Before joining PS&E, Krauskopf was the WNBA’s first director of basketball operations, helping establish the foundation of the league before its launch in 1997.
Krauskopf’s resignation comes as the Fever organization is under fire for online and in-arena harassment of opposing teams and their players, creating what The Athletic dubbed “a simmering disquiet among players” and forcing the WNBA to address how they monitor what players face at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Many players have reportedly shared their sense of “diminished sense of security” when playing in Indianapolis.
Even their own players have dealt with issues with fans.
Fever star Kelsey Mitchell alluded to these issues in her exit interview after the Fever lost in the first round of the 2026 playoffs to the Aces.
“Showing up every day to compete for fans that may or may not like you is hard,” Mitchell said.
“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’s exit also comes as Fever superstar Caitlin Clark becomes eligible for an Exceptional Performance on Initial Contract (EPIC) extension, allowing a player to renegotiate what would have been the fourth year of a rookie deal to come to terms on a three-year extension.
They can then earn the maximum salary in their fourth year if they were named to an All-WNBA team or won a major award of their own.
The Fever have several unrestricted free agents heading into this offseason, including Mitchell, who’s coming off a career season.
