TexAgs talks Texas A&M women's hoops with Kelly Krauskopf

I was lucky enough to be a part of a small contingent of reporters that sat down with former Texas A&M women's basketball player, coach and administrator Kelly Krauskopf on Monday afternoon. Krauskopf is most likely the biggest name of any former A&M player involved in women's hoops. She has done so much on the administration side of things and is now the COO and general manager of the WNBA's Indiana Fever.

Krauskopf is still an avid Texas A&M supporter and fan, and she's thrilled to see the maroon and white make it to the national championship game. And to do so on her team's home floor makes it even sweeter.

About five other reporters and I spoke with Krauskopf about her love for Texas A&M, her excitement of hosting the Aggies here at the Final Four and much more. I even ask her to evaluate Danielle Adams as a prospect, as well as Sydney Colson and Tyra White, and get her take on what each player needs to work on to have "staying power" in the WNBA.

I think you will really enjoy this interview. The video is included above.

I have included Krauskopf's complete bio, courtesy of the Indiana Fever:

 

Kelly Krauskopf is in her 11th season as the Indiana Fever’s Chief Operating Officer and her seventh as the team’s General Manager. The highest-ranking female sports administrator in Indianapolis, she has been the Fever’s chief executive since the franchise was founded in 1999.

Since the team was established, Krauskopf has been the guiding force of the Fever from building the team roster to building a fan base for Indiana’s Women’s National Basketball Association franchise. In her role with the Fever, Krauskopf oversees all aspects of the team's operation.

Since moving to Indianapolis and beginning the task of building a WNBA franchise, Krauskopf has engineered numerous player moves enabling the Fever to improve the team and complete its finest season in 2009. The Fever carried the best record in the WNBA throughout the regular season en route to the club’s first regular season conference title and its fifth consecutive playoff appearance. The 2009 campaign eclipsed the Fever’s previous best seasons with identical 21-13 records in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Entering 2010, Krauskopf has guided the franchise to six playoff berths in its first 10 seasons.

The Krauskopf-built Fever is perhaps the most stable the franchise has ever been, led by a solid core of returning starters that include All-Stars Tamika Catchings, Katie Douglas and Tammy Sutton-Brown, Australian Olympian Tully Bevilaqua and 2008 WNBA Most Improved Player Ebony Hoffman.

Within the past five years, Krauskopf’s key trades and free agent acquisitions have re-built the Fever roster. Krauskopf has frequently been among the league’s most active GMs, re-tooling the Fever roster with trades and free agent acquisitions that have annually put Indiana in playoff contention.

Besides a February 2008 deal to land hometown star Douglas, other moves in recent years resulted in the signing of veteran centers Natalie Williams and Yolanda Griffith, and former point guard Kelly Miller. A midseason move during the 2002 campaign brought veteran guard Coquese Washington to the Fever to ignite a late run to the franchise’s first appearance in the WNBA Playoffs.

The cornerstone of the franchise was solidified by the draft selection of Catchings in the 2001 WNBA Draft. The third overall selection in the 2001 Draft and a 2004 and 2008 U.S. Olympian, Catchings was named Rookie of the Year in 2002 and Defensive Player of the Year in 2005, 2006 and 2009. She is a six-time WNBA All-Star and a seven-time All-WNBA selection who has finished in the top five in MVP balloting seven times.

Bevilaqua, a veteran point guard from Australia who helped enable Seattle to win the WNBA title in 2004, was added via free agency in January 2005 to steady the unit and direct the franchise through what would become its finest seasons.

Krauskopf also serves on USA Basketball’s Women’s Senior National Team Committee, helping to select from WNBA players to develop U.S. National Team rosters. Krauskopf has been a committee member since 2000, helping select the gold-medal winning roster for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, and again for Beijing in 2008.

Krauskopf has been in the forefront of the development of the WNBA. In September 1996, she was named the WNBA’s first Director of Basketball Operations. In that role, she was involved in all phases of the league’s start-up operation and initiatives. She also developed the league’s first set of playing rules, officiating policies, scheduling and other league standards, while working daily with WNBA team general managers and operations personnel.

Before joining the WNBA, Krauskopf was the Managing Director of League Development for Media Sports Partnership, Limited in Dallas, Tex. From 1990 to 1994, she was Assistant Commissioner for the Southwest Conference. In addition to overseeing league marketing, she was the chief administrator for all eight women’s sports programs in the conference. She served from 1986 to 1990 as Texas A&M’s Assistant Athletic Director for Women’s Sports/Marketing.

Krauskopf has served on committees for the Women’s Sports Foundation; the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association; Citizenship for Sports Alliance and Texas A&M’s Lettermen’s Association Board of Directors. She currently serves on the Indiana Sports Corporation Presidents Council.

A 1983 graduate of Texas A&M University with a bachelor of arts degree in journalism, she was a three-year letterwinner in basketball for the Lady Aggies after transferring from Stephen F. Austin University where she played her freshman year under legendary coach Sue Gunter.