INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV)—- The Indiana Fever are in the middle of a three-game homestand.
The Fever beat the Phoenix Mercury 86-77 on Monday night and will face the Mercury again on Wednesday night inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
They will then take on the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday night.
During the matchup against the Sparks, the Fever will recognize founding WNBA President Val Ackerman with the Lin Dunn Inspiring Women Award. The presentation will place at halftime of the Fever's Inspiring Women Night.
"As we celebrate the WNBA's 30th season, it's especially meaningful to recognize someone whose vision helped make this league possible," Fever President of Basketball and Business Operations Kelly Krauskopf said in a news release. "Val's leadership helped build the WNBA from the ground up, creating opportunities for generations of women across our sport. I had the privilege of beginning my WNBA career alongside her during the league's earliest days, and I saw firsthand how her leadership shaped not only the league but the people who helped build it. Her legacy of breaking barriers and lifting up others perfectly reflects the spirit of the Lin Dunn Inspiring Women Award."
Ackerman is currently the Big East Conference commissioner. She will retire from the role on Aug. 31.
Ackerman was the WNBA's first president from 1996-2005. She also was a past president of USA Basketball.
She is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2021), the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame (2011) and the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame (2023).
“I remember vividly when the Fever joined the WNBA in 2000, and it’s been a thrill to see how far the team has come under the leadership of Herb Simon, Kelly Krauskopf, Tamika Catchings and the entire Pacers Sports & Entertainment organization,” Ackerman said in the news release. “I’m deeply honored to receive an award named for the legendary Lin Dunn and to have played a role in providing women’s pro basketball players and their fans with the platform they so richly deserve.”
Dunn, who is a senior advisor for the Fever, previously has served as both the Fever's head coach and the franchise's general manager. Dunn was the inaugural recipient of the team's Inspiring Women Award in 2025. It was renamed after her.
