Stephanie White, the new head coach of the Indiana Fever and a Boilermaker star who led her team to an NCAA basketball title in 1999, will visit Purdue University on February 11 for a Presidential Lecture Series discussion with Purdue President Mung Chiang.
In November, White, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communication from Purdue, was chosen to coach the Indiana Fever, which will probably attract more attention than any other team in WNBA history under the leadership of superstar Caitlin Clark.
White will give a Presidential Lecture on “A Boilermaker Legend: On and Off the Court” on Tuesday, February 11 at 6 p.m. in the Loeb Playhouse at Stewart Center. The public can attend the event for free, however a general admission ticket is needed.
As a student and Hall of Fame athlete, Stephanie White exemplified brilliance at scale by leading the Boilermakers to an NCAA title in 1999. And she has succeeded as a player and coach in the WNBA, showcasing her incredible physical and leadership abilities to the fullest,” Chiang stated. “We are thrilled that she is returning home to Indiana, coaching the Fever once more, and that she can join us as a special guest through Purdue’s Presidential Lecture Series.”
With 17 seasons of combined WNBA playing and coaching experience, White is a legendary figure in Indiana women’s basketball history, renowned for her skill, grit, poise, and game understanding.
White is making a comeback as head coach of the Indiana Fever, a team she missed six seasons coaching, going into the 2025 campaign. Her Fever teams finished 37-31 overall and 6-6 in the playoffs during her tenure as head coach in 2015 and 2016. White led Indiana to its first WNBA title in 2012 while serving as an assistant coach from 2011 to 2014.
White has been the head coach of the Connecticut Sun for the last two seasons, leading the team to consecutive trips to the playoff semifinals with a 55-25 record. She was selected as the head coach of the WNBA All-Star Game in 2023 and won the WNBA Coach of the Year and Associated Press Coach of the Year awards.
She was acquired by the Fever prior to their first season in 2000, and she spent the most of her WNBA career with them. In terms of games played (112), assists (225), steals (115), and 3-point field goals made (92), she is in the top 20 in the history of the team.
White played four seasons for Purdue during her illustrious undergraduate career, winning the Wade Trophy and Big Ten Conference Player of the Year awards while guiding the Boilermakers to the 1999 NCAA championship as a senior captain and All-American. The 5-foot-10 shooting guard, who started all 127 of the Boilermakers’ games and averaged 34.6 minutes played, finished with 2,182 points and never missed a game while wearing the old gold and black.
Purdue’s season attendance average increased from 4,664 the year before White arrived to 9,681 her senior season, setting a program record, thanks to her popularity. White was a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2022 and was inducted into the Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.
