By all accounts, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) has never been bigger on the national stage.
Boosted by the addition of high-profile rookies and national figures like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, the league exploded in popularity during the 2024 season, delivering its most-watched regular season in 24 years, its highest attendance in 22 years and setting records for digital consumption and media sales. 54 million people watched WNBA games in 2024 (up 170% over the previous season), while more than 2.3 million fans attended games (up 48%).
While it is a great time to be a fan of the league, it’s even more thrilling to be in a position of leadership. And leadership is what Amber Cox ’96, ’98, General Manager and Chief Operating Officer for the Indiana Fever, has always been all about.
“I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of great experiences in the WNBA, and women’s sports, and hope that I have played a role in helping build the foundation of where the league is today,” said Cox, who took over the top leadership spot with the Fever in October of last year. “I feel like we’ve finally hit a tipping point when it comes to viewership and attendance, and the excitement that comes with women’s basketball in particular, and I feel like all of my experiences in my career have prepared me for this moment, to be in a place like Indiana with the Fever which is kind of the epicenter of women’s sports right now.”
Those experiences have included leadership roles with four different WNBA franchises, going all the way back to 2005, as well as positions with other women’s professional sports franchises, putting the former William Woods Owl basketball star in a prime position to observe the impressive growth of the league in the past two decades.
“When I started with the (Phoenix) Mercury in 2005, the league was really still in its infancy,” said Cox. “But what’s true in the WNBA is that the basketball and the players have always been fantastic, and we’ve always known that if you can get people to come in one time for a game, they are going to come back. And what’s happening now is these incredible athletes, and Caitlin Clark is the prime example of this, they have such a huge following of fans who are excited to watch them play at the next level when they come out of college, that it has been a multiplier effect.”
“So instead of hundreds of people coming out and trying the product, you now have thousands and thousands of fans coming out to arenas around the country to see them, and what they’re learning is ‘OK, I came out to an Indiana Fever game because I love Caitlin Clark, but then I fell in love with Kelsey Mitchell, the guard who helped build the franchise over the past seven years.’ So you’re getting people exposed to it for the first time, they see what a great sport it is and overall experience, and it just has multiplied from there.”
Ah yes, Caitlin Clark, who entered the league in 2024 to near Rock Star status after a spectacular collegiate career at Iowa, making her team – the Indiana Fever – must watch viewing in her rookie year. It was into that environment that Cox became the franchise’s G.M. and C.O.O. in October 2024, introducing her to the game’s larger-than-life new star.
“I have been just so impressed at how she obviously plays the game, but also how she handles the media and interacts with the fans, and is gracious with her time,” said Cox, who was still with the Dallas Wings during Clark’s rookie season. “Now getting here to Indiana and getting to know her as a person, I’m even more impressed. Just a really quality human being who wants to do things the right way, really focused on her craft, loves the game and a great teammate. She really wants to help not only the franchise but the league and sport continue to grow.”
Which Cox can truly appreciate, because one time she was a fierce competitor on the basketball court herself – wearing William Woods green, of course.
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For all Amber Cox has accomplished and all the places she has been in her spectacular career, ask her how she feels about her William Woods days and you might get the feeling it made an impression on her.
“I loved my time at William Woods, in fact I’d go back to school there today if I could!” she laughs.
While at The Woods, the Monett, Missouri native did it all – starring on the basketball court while leading the Owls to a conference championship, meeting lifetime friends, thriving academically. She earned her Bachelor’s (English Communication) in 1996 and Master’s (Business Administration) in 1998, and came away with an experience that changed her life.
“I learned so much about who I was as a person while I was at William Woods,” Cox said, “and it gave me so much confidence to go out and believe in myself, because everyone there believed in me.”
She remembers incredibly stimulating classes with faculty like Florence Krause and Roger Ternes, and the coaching she received from her basketball coach Joy Grimes, and the friends she made.
“Being in classrooms with these incredible, empowering professors really made an impact on me,” she added. “Just some amazing people who instilled so much confidence in me. It was a tremendous experience that shaped so much of who I am today.”
And her great memories of William Woods even extended beyond her time there as a student, serving a stint as Athletic Director and later on when she was honored with the opportunity to deliver the commencement address in 2013.
“It was a really special moment, that I was asked to that, and I’ll always cherish it,” she said.
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Fast forward to the Winter of 2024-2025. It’s the off-season for the Indiana Fever, but for the General Manager and Chief Operating Officer, there really is no off-season.
As Chief Operating Officer, she has one foot in the business side, including things like ticket sales, marketing, and community efforts. And then from a General Manager standpoint, at this time of year she is tasked with building the Fever’s roster, so it’s scouring the free agent market, watching a lot of college basketball games to scout players, preparing for the draft which is in April, followed by training camp.
“It’s a lot of fun and what I do each day really depends on what time of year it is and what’s on the calendar for that day,” she said. “I feel incredibly fortunate to get up every day and work on behalf of these amazing women; they are more than just great basketball players, they are philanthropists, businesswomen, and so very smart. The more we can work to bring the spotlight on this league, the bigger platform they will have. That’s what motivates me every day.”
Cox’s lifetime motivation to succeed in sports management and leadership has taken her all the way to the pinnacle of women’s professional sports, where she will be in spotlight more so than ever this coming season as the WNBA and Fever continue to be at the epicenter of the sport. And she truly believes that the path she has chosen is possible for any young person who is hungry enough, like when she was 22 and she drove herself to Atlanta to serve as an unpaid volunteer at the 1996 Summer Olympics, for example. Take advantage of internships, meeting people, volunteering at your college or at others, anyway to get your foot in the door.
“It’s about getting as many experiences you can have, and networking, working hard and being confident,” she says. “Ask for the job, ask for the raise, ask for what you want – that’s the kind of thing instilled in me at William Woods. Because you never know, and the worst thing that can happen is someone says ‘no.’”
