The Indiana Fever will conduct a national search for a general manager after Amber Cox left her roles as GM and chief operating officer, effective immediately. Pacers Sports & Entertainment announced the departure in Indianapolis on 23 October 2026, the same day it announced that team president Kelly Krauskopf would step down.
The changes put two senior leadership posts in transition as Indiana enters its offseason. But the official record gives the departures different timelines: Krauskopf had already informed leadership of her decision before the end of the 2026 regular season. Her announcement therefore cannot be explained solely by what happened in the playoffs.
Fever leadership: what the sources establish
| Role / person | Status | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| COO and GM — Amber Cox | Departure effective immediately; national GM search | Club announcement, 23 October |
| Team president — Kelly Krauskopf | Stepping down; decision made before regular-season end | Separate club announcement |
| Head coach — Stephanie White | Expected to remain | ESPN sources; not a new club announcement |
| Next GM | No successor named in the release | Search announced, completion not announced |
Checked 24 October 2026. Announcement date and decision date are different facts.
Two announcements, with an important timing distinction
Krauskopf helped establish the franchise before its first season in 2000 and later worked in the Pacers’ front office. She returned to the Fever in 2024 to lead basketball and business operations. The club’s departure statement places her decision before the regular-season finish and describes her contribution to the organisation’s long-term development.
The Cox release is narrower. It confirms an immediate departure and a national GM search, thanks her for navigating the growth of the team and the WNBA, and does not give a detailed reason for the change. ESPN reports that Cox was fired. That reporting and the club’s announcement establish a management change; neither identifies a named successor or a completed recruitment process.
Why the season provides context without proving a single cause
Indiana set a franchise record with 28 regular-season wins in 2026, according to the club. ESPN reports a 28–16 finish followed by a first-round loss to Las Vegas. The contrast is relevant: a stronger regular-season total did not produce a deeper playoff run. It does not, by itself, establish every consideration behind the ownership group’s decisions.
The transition also reaches beyond one result. Krauskopf’s official statement describes her work on a $78 million performance centre scheduled to open in March 2027. That gives the next leadership team an existing organisational project to inherit, alongside basketball decisions. The announced opening remains a future schedule, rather than a facility already in operation.
White’s status and the next announcement to watch
ESPN says sources expect Stephanie White to remain head coach. That is a reported expectation, not a separate new coaching announcement from the Fever in the two releases reviewed here. Fans following the changes can use the club’s official news page, linked through the releases below, to distinguish an appointment from speculation about candidates or coaching changes.
The immediate next step confirmed by the club is the national GM search. The useful questions for a subsequent announcement are who receives the job, when the appointment takes effect and how leadership responsibilities are defined. For now, Indiana has confirmed executive departures while leaving the next structure open; the season’s record and Krauskopf’s earlier decision explain why those two facts need to be read together.
Official club releases and ESPN’s original reporting checked 24 October 2026. White’s status is attributed reporting; no successor is named in the club release.
- Indiana Fever: Amber Cox departure and national GM search ↗
- Indiana Fever: Kelly Krauskopf steps down ↗
- ESPN: Cox dismissal and White expected to stay, per sources ↗