The Fever have a loyal and growing fan base. Indiana set league records for television ratings after drafting Caitlin Clark.

The Fever have a loyal and growing fan base. Indiana set league records for television ratings after drafting Caitlin Clark.

But the team doesn’t just want to be known. They want to win:

INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark wasn’t born when Kelly Krauskopf began working for Indiana’s WNBA expansion franchise. In July 1999, Krauskopf became employee No. 1 for the state’s first major professional women’s sports team, hired as the chief operating officer to put a face on a franchise without a name. A native Texan, Krauskopf had never been to Indianapolis before. She helped decide the team name, the Fever emblem and red and gold colors. Even once their brand identity was decided, friends would ask, “What’s the logo on that shirt?”

It’s safe to say that over the past year of Clark Mania, Krauskopf no longer fields such questions. The franchise hasn’t recorded a winning season since 2015, but those goals have changed, too. “What we’re experiencing is really special,” Krauskopf said.

“We want to be a team like the Houston Comets, like the Minnesota Lynx, that’s able to put multiple banners in our arena,” added Fever coach Stephanie White, referencing two historic four-time champions. “We’re willing to do what it takes to position ourselves to do that.”

Houston won four straight titles from 1997-2000, and the Lynx won championships four times between 2011-2017. Indiana won the title in 2012 and reached the finals again three years later, but had five single-digit-win seasons between 2017 and 2022. The Fever understand the organization is a long way from establishing a dynasty, but they’re explicit about how they hope this season will end.

Clark’s definition of 2025 success is simple: “A championship.”

The Fever have a loyal and growing fan base that’s clamoring for a trophy. After drafting Clark with the No. 1 pick last season, Indiana set league records for television ratings, Clark merchandise is among the highest-selling among athletes in any sport, and road arenas sell out when the WNBA’s version of the Beatles comes to town.

But the Fever, who open their season Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis against the Chicago Sky, don’t just want to be known. They want to win.

Indiana lost in the first round of last season’s playoffs, but that still was an improvement, considering its postseason appearance ended a seven-year drought. Already expectations have shifted. Entering this season, the Fever have one of the league’s four-best title odds, bunched with battle-tested franchises like the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx — who competed in last season’s WNBA Finals — as well as the Las Vegas Aces, who won titles in 2023 and 2024.