2012 Media Guide - WNBA.com

2012 INDIANA FEVER MEDIA GUIDE
GREAT DATES IN FRANCHISE HISTORY
JUNE 7, 1999
Indianapolis, Miami, Portland and Seattle awarded WNBA
expansion franchises to begin play in 2000.
JUNE 25, 1999
Sold 1,000th season ticket to Dorothy Mengering, the mother of
late-night talk show host David Letterman.
JULY 22, 1999
Hired Kelly Krauskopf as the team’s first Chief Operating Officer.
Krauskopf becomes the highest-ranking female front office
executive at any of the city’s professional sports franchises.
JULY 30, 1999
Sold 2,000th season ticket to Indianapolis 500 veteran racecar
driver Lyn St. James. “When the WNBA was initially launched in
1997, I was actually surprised that Indianapolis, with its
tremendous basketball tradition and the support that surrounds
basketball here, was not one of the cities on the list,” St. James
said. “I am certainly pleased to see that Indianapolis has now been
awarded a franchise, and I am confident that the team will be
embraced by the loyal basketball fans in Indiana.”
AUGUST 13, 1999
Sold 3,000th season ticket to San Diego Padres’ All-Star outfielder
Tony Gwynn, just days after he became the 22nd player in Major
League Baseball history to reach the 3,000-hit plateau. “I was glad
to hear that Indiana was awarded a franchise,” Gwynn said, who
has a home in Indianapolis. “I have seen first hand how kids look
up to professional athletes. My wife and I are looking forward to
the opportunity for our kids to watch these WNBA players, who are
not only great athletes, but great role models.”
AUGUST 17, 1999
Named Nell Fortner as the team’s first head coach and general
manager. Already committed to the U.S. women’s national team
through the 2000 Olympic Games, Fortner is scheduled to join the
team in 2001, following her Olympic commitment.
AUGUST 27, 1999
Sold 4,500th season ticket to Grammy Award-winning recording
artist and Anderson, Ind., native Sandi Patty. “I have come to love
and respect women’s sports, and I think this is a wonderful
opportunity for Indianapolis and the state of Indiana,” Patty said.
The team also announces its 2000 individual game ticket prices at
a press conference at Market Square Arena. The average ticket
price to attend a WNBA game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse will be
$13, with prices ranging from $5 to $85.
SEPTEMBER 23, 1999
Sold 5,000th season ticket to Indiana Pacers Head Coach Larry
Bird. “I think Indiana’s WNBA franchise will be a huge success,
and I’m happy to be a part of helping to ensure that success,” Bird
said. “Indiana fans love their basketball and I think they will
embrace the WNBA team and the high quality of play it will bring to
Indiana,” Bird said.
OCTOBER 1, 1999
Sold 5,500th season ticket to former U.S. Senator Birch Bayh,
enabling the franchise to meet the league’s minimum goal two
weeks ahead of schedule. Said Bayh, “I have long believed that
both our daughters and our sons need to experience the benefits
that come with participating in sporting activities.” Bayh introduced
the 1972 Title IX law, which provided equal opportunities for
female participation in athletics.
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OCTOBER 12, 1999
WNBA President Val Ackerman visits Indianapolis as the guest
speaker at a WNBA corporate luncheon. Ackerman speaks to 220
corporate representatives at The Columbia Club on Monument
Circle.
OCTOBER 20, 1999
Named Hall-of-Famer Anne Donovan as the team’s head coach
for the 2000 season. Donovan will coach the team in the absence
of Fortner and become the team’s lead assistant coach upon
Fortner’s return.
NOVEMBER 15, 1999
Awarded the first pick in the 2000 WNBA Expansion Draft in a
random drawing at the WNBA League Meetings when the team’s
designated ping-pong ball was the first out of the selection
receptacle.
DECEMBER 15, 1999
Selected Gordana Grubin (Los Angeles) with the first pick, Sandy
Brondello (Detroit) with the eighth pick, Nyree Roberts
(Washington) with the ninth pick, Kara Wolters (Houston) with the
16th pick, Rita Williams (Washington) with the 17th pick and
Chantel Tremitiere (Utah) with the 24th pick in the 2000 WNBA
Expansion Draft. Acquired Stephanie White from Miami, in
exchange for Sandy Brondello and a first-round pick in the 2000
WNBA Draft. Acquired Monica Maxwell from Washington, in
exchange for selecting Nyree Roberts and a fourth-round pick in
the 2000 WNBA Draft.
DECEMBER 17, 1999
Unveiled team name and logo before 300 in attendance at the Arts
Garden in Circle Centre Mall. Pacers Sports & Entertainment
President Donnie Walsh, Fever Chief Operating Officer Kelly
Krauskopf, Head Coach Anne Donovan, Indianapolis Mayor
Stephen Goldsmith and Stephanie White speak at the unveiling.
APRIL 28, 2000
Chris Denari was named the team’s first radio and television playby-play
announcer.
APRIL 29, 2000
Local tryouts conducted at Butler University’s Hinkle Fieldhouse,
with over 200 women competing with hopes of landing a spot on
the 11-player Fever roster. After two days of basketball, one
player, Texlin Quinney from Buffalo, N.Y., made the final cut and
found herself on the Fever’s opening day roster.
MAY 1, 2000
Members of the media get their first glimpse of the new WNBA
franchise as the morning begins with media day. Later that day,
the team opens training camp and holds its first practice on Emmis
Court in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Karen Wilkins, Shantel
Hardison, Monick Foote, Stacey Lovelace, Katasha Artis, Donna
Harrington, Alicia Thompson and Texlin Quinney are assigned to
the Fever by the WNBA.
The Fever’s home opener in its 10th anniversary season (2009) was exactly 10 years to the day after the franchise was founded.