May 25, 2016
Watch Press Conference | Meet Coach White | 
Photos | First Interview | Ticket Info
Vice Chancellor Williams
Opening Statement:
“Welcome everybody. It seems like just yesterday that we hired our fine men’s basketball coach. This time we took a different approach. If you remember, last time we said that we hired Eddie Fogler as a consultant because he knew a lot about men’s basketball. The Chancellor and I had a chance to talk about it and we decided to put a committee together. And we put a committee together of six women who know women’s college basketball as well as anybody in the country. So I want to introduce the five women who are here today that were apart of the committee.
As I was driving to work today, I declared Nashville Hoops City, starring Bryce and Stephanie. For this to work, it all starts at the top. If you don’t have support, encouragement, and leadership at the top, none of this can happen. We are fortunate to have this because none of this would be possible unless we had a chancellor who believes in what we are doing, supports what we are doing and believes in athletics.”
Chancellor Zeppos
“I just want echo David’s enthusiasm and appreciation for the experts who led this search. David and I discussed that we needed people that understand Vanderbilt and understand women’s sports and the trajectory of this great program. When I first came here Memorial Magic was the result of a lot of people, but particularly some amazing women who were great at basketball. I have been here 29 years and the magic in this building is a testament of incredible people and a commitment to equality in this country as well that women will have a great opportunity to play sports and also get a world-class education. I could not be more excited about our new coach Stephanie White. Her resume is like something Vanderbilt itself would write. We believe in the highest of standards. We believe in a welcoming community. She was NCAA Player of the Year, Big Ten Conference Player of the Year. She led her team to a National Championship during her senior year all while being in the Phi Beta Kappa Society. She went on to the WNBA to play for the Charlotte Sting and the Indiana Fever. As a coach she is a teacher. She is a caring person who wants to give students the chance she had to excel academically and athletically. So she started coaching. She started as an assistant at Ball State, Kansas State, Toledo, and then eventually the WNBA. In her first year as head coach of the Indiana Fever, she led her team to the championship. She was the first rookie head coach in history to do that. Her values, her principles and her whole life’s work, make it a perfect fit for Vanderbilt.”
It’s all about family as well. I want to recognize and welcome Stephanie’s wife Michelle and a young man named Landon and your other two wonderful children. We are so pleased that you all are going to be a part of our wonderful community.”
Head Coach Stephanie White:
Opening Statement:
“Hey everybody! I was thinking about the first time I walked into this gym. It was 1992 for a summer camp. And then I took an official visit in 1994. I actually was deciding to either go to Purdue or Vanderbilt. It looks a lot like it did then and it’s so exciting to walk back in here and to have all those memories rush back. And I’m excited to be standing up here today. I’m so incredibly honored to be your head coach. Vanderbilt is a dream job. It’s an amazing opportunity for my family to begin to establish roots in a community like Vanderbilt University. I want to start by thanking Chancellor Zeppos, David Williams, and Candice Lee for help making my dream come true. Thank you guys so much from the bottom of my heart. Thanks for your time and patience during this process. I am so thankful for the support of these people because of the dynamic circumstances of me finishing up my season with the Indiana Fever. They (Fever) have also been supportive throughout this process. Vanderbilt is home. I also want to thank Kelly Krauskopf. We started our career together in 2000. We won a WNBA Championship together in 2012. She knows I have always had the passion to be a collegiate head coach.
Vanderbilt is a perfect fit. It’s a university that attracts high achievers. I want to attract high achievers. It has unparalleled academic and athletic integrity and that’s what it’s all about. It’s about our drive to be the best that we can be. It’s also the strong desire to shape and mentor future leaders. And that’s what being a teacher and being a leader is all about.
On the floor, we want to be a tough, hard-nosed team. We also want to play fast-paced basketball. We are going to be a fun team to watch. There is going to be a transition period and a process, but we are going to have a lot of fun throughout this process. We are going to be a team that works hard and values one another. We are going to be a team that shares the basketball and have team a first mentality. Off the floor we are going to be leaders in the community. We are going to represent our team, our university, and the Nashville community with integrity. We are going to put a team on the floor that you will be proud of. I’m excited to bring a Vandy alum back home in Carolyn Peck. I played for three coaches in four years and she was there for two of them. We were on a team that was physically and emotionally beaten down and then a few years later won a National Championship. Thank you so much for being the person here anchoring the ship while I’m finishing up my work with the Indiana Fever. Thank you for coming on board. We have a terrific opportunity ahead of us. We are going to make everyone in here proud. Anchor Down!”
On what pace she want to bring to the offense:
“Obviously we want to push the pace. We will run a lot of stuff. But we will give the players the opportunity to read and play off of one another. I don’t like to put a number on things like time of possession. I want to be efficient and get the best shot on the floor. I want to have high assist to field goal ratios. But, it’s going to be a process. I think we are going to have to learn how to play fast and still play together. I hope we play fun and are able to play with a lot of depth so that we can wear teams down in the fourth quarter.”
On what it means for Vanderbilt if her Indiana Fever team makes a postseason run into late October:
“Luckily, Carolyn and I have a great relationship and we will be communicating every day about how they are transitioning during the process and what we need to change. We will video everything, so I can watch it. Our language is very similar because we have worked together before. She has seen me in action and has an idea of where we want to go. She has seen me first hand, so she knows the language that I use. She will understand the goals that we have; the communication I use started with her. When she was coaching she was so open to allowing us to have a voice while I played for her and a lot of coaches aren’t like that. A lot of the ground work that I have is already there because of having that connection with Carolyn. So hopefully having that connection will shorten up the missed time I will have with the team.”
On what is the program’s ceiling:
“I think it’s a program that has had a lot of success. There is certainly a foundation that has been laid. Coach Balcomb has done an outstanding job. This is not really a rebuilding process. There are great players that are already here with this team. And we have great freshman class coming in that we get to build off of. I think mainly we need to change a mindset a little bit and change the process of how we work every day. And changing the way we play the game. Every day I want our team to get better. Every day I want our team to recognize things that they do well. In December we are going to look a lot different than we did in October and in January we will look a lot different than we did in November.”
On how being out of coaching on the collegiate level will impact recruiting:
“I know I haven’t coached in a college game in nearly a decade, but I have commentated on the college game. I have probably learned if not more at my commentating job than sometimes my coaching job. I have a face that’s been out there on T.V. through working on ESPN and I think it will impact the recruiting world positively because of that. Also I think having the WNBA experience will help. If you are a recruit and you can come play for a national championship coach and a WNBA champion as a player and coach, it would be very attractive if you want to eventually play professional. Playing professionally is a realistic option now, it wasn’t when I was playing.”
