November 1, 2024

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The Fever have landed a new head coach, filling one of the WNBA’s seven coaching vacancies. We explore how the move to bring in Stephanie White positions Indiana to build on last season’s playoff success and navigate a shifting landscape with one of the league’s brightest young stars, Caitlin Clark.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]] and Colin Salao [[link removed]]

Stephanie White Returns to Indiana Fever to Coach Caitlin Clark in Year 2 [[link removed]]

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Caitlin Clark had just one head coach at Iowa—the highly respected Lisa Bluder. Weeks after Clark’s first season in the WNBA with the Indiana Fever, she already has her second head coach as a pro.

The Fever hired Stephanie White on Friday [[link removed]], who returns as head coach nearly a decade after a six-year stint with the team, which included four years as an assistant and two years as head coach.

White served as an assistant coach under Lin Dunn, now a Fever senior advisor, during the team’s only championship run in 2012. She led the franchise back to the Finals in 2015 as a head coach. She also played for the team from 2000 to 2004, though she missed the 2002 season due to injury.

She spent the last two years as the coach of the Connecticut Sun, the team that eliminated the Fever in the 2024 playoffs, but the two sides parted ways Monday. White had a year remaining on her contract.

Sun president Jen Rizzotti told ESPN the two sides parted on “good terms” and White, a native of Indiana, departed for reasons beyond basketball.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Sunday, following the Fever firing of head coach Christie Sides [[link removed]], that White had narrowed her search to the Fever and Chicago Sky [[link removed]]. White, an Indiana native, started her WNBA coaching career with the Sky.

White inherits a Fever roster that finished 20–20 last season and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2016, her last season as head coach. The role comes with a national spotlight given the presence of Caitlin Clark, the league’s biggest draw [[link removed]], and lofty expectations due to the early success of Clark and 2023 No. 1 pick Aliyah Boston.

Following Clark’s WNBA debut in May against the Sun, Clark spoke glowingly of White, who worked as a basketball analyst for ESPN and the Big Ten Network and called many of the star guard’s games at Iowa.

“I just think she has a really great basketball mind. I think she’s done a great job calling college games. … She’s been a trailblazer, honestly. I think she’s always been somebody that’s been supportive of my game. It’s been fun to talk to her at shootarounds throughout my college career,” Clark said.

WNBA Coaching Carousel

White’s signing closes the door on one of seven coaching vacancies across the WNBA—which is more than half of the league, even when including the expansion Golden State Valkyries.

The six teams missing head coaches are the Los Angeles Sparks, Sky, Dallas Wings, Atlanta Dream, Washington Mystics, and Sun. The Sun are the only team without a coach that finished last season with a winning record.

Front Office Sports explored the possible reasons for the mass head-coach firings across the league, which could be related to the league’s unprecedented growth and the money teams are expecting to receive from the $2.2 billion media-rights deal. Read more here [[link removed]].

Rays’ Future Uncertain As Tropicana Field Repairs Begin [[link removed]]

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The Rays still don’t know where they will play in 2025, but a significant step has been taken in efforts to start repairing Tropicana Field.

The St. Petersburg city council approved roughly $6.5 million in public funding Thursday for work to be done to the ballpark that sustained major damage [[link removed]]—including its roof collapsing—during Hurricane Milton.

A temporary drainage system will be created and the Tropicana Field’s electrical system, offices, concessions, and other exposed areas will be waterproofed, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The process, which is also intended to safeguard the facility against future storms, could last eight weeks [[link removed]].

It’s still expected that the Rays will need to open the next MLB season in late March at a temporary venue—with the team focused on Tampa-area options [[link removed]] like their own spring training center in Port Charlotte, Fla., or potentially the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando.

It remains possible that Tropicana Field could be declared unsalvageable during the cleanup process, which could save St. Petersburg some money in the short term but create major long-term issues for the Rays.

Looking to the Future

The Rays are dealing with the damage to Tropicana Field while they simultaneously try to move forward with the construction of a $1.3 billion ballpark in St. Petersburg [[link removed]] set to open in 2028.

Public funding will account for $600 million of that project, but earlier this week, Pinellas County officials delayed a crucial vote to move the process forward.

The county must issue $300 million in bonds to help the stadium financing by March 19, or the deal will be terminated [[link removed]], according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal. The vote on those bonds has been pushed back to Nov. 19.

SPONSORED BY TICKPICK

Wild World Series Fluctuations

In the 12th World Series between the Dodgers [[link removed]] and Yankees [[link removed]], anticipation was through the roof. Before the series began, Game 3 in New York represented the highest get-in price of a World Series game on record ($1,702), according to TickPick [[link removed]]. Five days later, after the Dodgers took a 3–0 series lead, prices dropped by more than half—all the way to $660.

The Yankees won Game 4 and avoided a sweep, but Game 5 rates ticked up only 3%. It seems fans were aware no team has come back from a 3–0 deficit in a World Series. Rates in L.A. remained sky-high as fans hoped to celebrate a title at home, but the Dodgers came back to win Game 5 in dramatic fashion, popping champagne in the Bronx.

For more ticketing trends and insights, check out our Big Ticket Trend Report [[link removed]], presented by TickPick, and get $15 off your first purchase of $99+ with code FOS15 [[link removed]].

LOUD AND CLEAR Fair Play

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“At no point was any Big 12 competition compromised.”

—A portion of the conference’s statement on a review of football games this season. It was previously reported that coach-to-player in-game communications during Power 4 matchups this season had been occurring on unencrypted frequencies. Texas Tech requested a report from the Big 12 on the Red Raiders’ recent losses against TCU and Baylor.

ONE BIG FIG Soccer Fans Score

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10,000

Number of playoff tickets Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank is giving to fans [[link removed]] for Game 2 of the first-round series against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami on Saturday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. The first 5,000 season-ticket holders who apply for the promotion will be given two extra tickets in the stadium’s upper 300 level, which they can transfer to other fans, but will not be allowed to list for resale on Ticketmaster.

The match is expected to draw a sellout crowd of about 70,000 fans as Atlanta aims to extend the series after losing the first game, 2–1. The two teams drew close to 68,000 spectators when they last played to a 2–2 draw at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sept. 18. MLS’s single-game attendance record is 82,110 when the LA Galaxy faced LAFC last July at the Rose Bowl.

WEEKEND PRIZE POOL Let’s Go Racing

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Front Office Sports tees up every weekend sporting slate with a ledger of the purses and prize pools at stake. Here’s what’s up for grabs this weekend:

Breeders’ Cup Classic: Del Mar Racetrack, San Diego

When: Saturday Purse: $7 million First place: $3.6 million

NASCAR Cup Series: Xfinity 500, Martinsville Speedway, Va.

When: Sunday Purse: $8.9 million First place: Individual payouts are no longer disclosed

ATP Tour: Paris Masters, France

When: Sunday Purse: $6.4 million First place: $992,924

LPGA Tour: Toto Japan Classic, Shiga, Japan

When: Thursday to Sunday Purse: $2 million First place: $300,000 STATUS REPORT One Up, Two Down, One Push

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Amazon Prime Video ⬆ The streaming giant will add an NBA game to its Black Friday schedule [[link removed]] in 2025, which will follow the NFL’s game that day. The move shows Amazon’s interest in turning Black Friday into a major sports day after Prime Video streamed the first NFL Black Friday game last year. Amazon, together with ESPN and NBCUniversal, agreed to a media deal with the NBA [[link removed]] in July that kicks in next season.

23XI Racing ⬇ The team owned by Michael Jordan, together with Front Row Motorsports, had a motion for expedited discovery denied by the court in their case against NASCAR [[link removed]]. The teams were looking for immediate access to documents from NASCAR executives that pertain to the 2025 charter agreement, in which the two teams are suing the league over antitrust allegations. The preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for Nov. 4.

MLB pitch clock ⬆⬇ The average time for nine-inning games during the World Series was three hours and 19 minutes [[link removed]], up from three hours and one minute in 2023. The 2024 regular-season average was two hours and 36 minutes [[link removed]]—four minutes less than last season—but the additional pitching changes were a factor in extending the time during the Fall Classic. However, the longer games did not seem to deter viewers as the World Series saw its largest TV viewership since 2017 [[link removed]].

Las Vegas Grand Prix ticket prices ⬇ A new ticket package released for the Formula One race is almost half of its original price. The Lewis Hamilton Package—which includes a three-day ticket to the West Harmon Grandstands and complimentary food, water, and soft drinks—costs $672 before taxes and fees, down from the original price of $1,200. Year 2 of the race weekend in Vegas is scheduled for Nov. 21 to 23.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS AWARDS

Last Chance to Recognize Your Employer

Whether it’s great leadership; focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion; or commitment to employee well-being, the Front Office Sports Best Employers in Sports Award [[link removed]] recognizes organizations that do right by their employees.

How do we determine who wins the award? We don’t—employees do! The award is based entirely on anonymous survey results from sports industry professionals.

Responses will be evaluated in collaboration with our primary research partner, Canvs [[link removed]], using patented AI technology free from all subjectivity and human bias. There is no word count limit and you can even use slang, text abbreviations, sarcasm, and emoji to complete the survey.

There is less than one week remain to take the free 2024 employee survey! Complete the survey [[link removed]] by Nov. 6 for a chance to recognize your company as one of the best in the business.

Conversation Starters Kirk Herbstreit is #Globetrotting again and will tally nearly 3,000 miles of travel for his football broadcasting duties from Wednesday through Sunday. Take a look [[link removed]]. Nike lit up the Hollywood sign with a splash of Dodger blue to celebrate the team’s World Series win. Check it out [[link removed]]. Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 women’s basketball league launching in January, will expand rosters from 30 to 36 spots [[link removed]], according to Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier, one of the league’s cofounders. Editors’ Picks Adam Schefter Uses Same Pirated NFL Clips As Everyone Else [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]ESPN’s NFL insider posted a video from an illegal stream Thursday night. Could Amazon Make Black Friday a True Sports Holiday? [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]Prime made waves by putting an NFL game on Black Friday. The NBA is on the way. Inside Cosm’s Plans for a Fourth Location—and Beyond [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]The downtown Detroit site will add to the city’s sports and entertainment district. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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