Dane Fife will join IU men’s basketball head coach Mike Woodson’s staff, the program announced Monday.
“Dane is someone who I have always had the utmost respect for,” Woodson said in a statement. “His knowledge of the Big Ten and his success as a recruiter will be an invaluable asset as we look to continue building a staff that will help elevate this program to the highest levels.”
Fife played for the Hoosiers from 1998-2002 under Bob Knight and still holds IU’s career steals record with 180. After playing, he became an administrative assistant at IU under Mike Davis for two years.
He then went on to coach at IU-Purdue University Fort Wayne for six seasons where he was the youngest Division I basketball head coach in the country at 25 years old.
Since then, he’s spent the last eight years in East Lansing, Michigan, working at Michigan State under head coach Tom Izzo. Most recently, Fife has served as the Spartans’ associate head coach.
When IU Athletics Director Scott Dolson fired Archie Miller, he said he wanted to find a head coach that embraced IU’s history but had a vision for the future. He found that in Woodson, and now, Woodson is bringing back another former player to help with that vision.
“I know his love for the for the Hoosiers and this University comes across the moment you talk to him and we are excited to welcome back Dane, his wife Blair, and daughters Quinnly and Reagan back to Bloomington,” Woodson said.
