Dane Fife will not return to Indiana next season
Assistant coach Dane Fife will not return to Indiana next season, Inside the Hall has learned.
Jeff Rabjohns of Peegs.com was the first to report the news of Fife’s departure from the program.
Indiana has not made any announcement regarding Fife’s future as of 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday afternoon.
Fife was hired by Indiana last spring as the second assistant coach on Mike Woodson’s coaching staff.
Fife suited up for Indiana from 1998-2002, playing under the tutelage of both Bob Knight and Mike Davis. The 6-foot 4-inch guard finished his career at Indiana averaging 5.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Fife still holds Indiana’s program record for all-time steals with 180.
In the 2001-02 season, Fife’s senior year, he helped lead the Hoosiers to capture a share of the Big Ten regular-season title as well as a national championship game appearance against Maryland, where Indiana ultimately fell short.
That season was Fife’s most productive during his career at IU. He was awarded co-Big Ten defensive player of the year as he racked up 53 steals, the eighth-best in a single-season at Indiana. He also knocked down better than 47 percent of his shots from beyond the arc, ranking sixth in program history for a single-season. Fife is also tied for sixth all-time in games played in program history.
After playing one season in the CBA, Fife joined Davis’ staff at Indiana as an assistant for two seasons.
In 2005, Fife took a head coaching position at IPFW (now Purdue Fort Wayne). In his first season, Fife led IPFW to 10 wins, the most since the program moved into Division I ranks in 2001. In Fife’s fifth season, IPFW notched a winning record for the first time at the Division I level.
Prior to the 2010-11 campaign, Fife’s name was floated as a potential candidate for assistant coaching spots at Indiana under Tom Crean and Michigan under John Beilein. Instead, Fife stayed at IPFW and guided the team to an 18-12 record.
After that season, Fife was a potential candidate to join Matt Painter at Purdue, but turned down the offer. Later that year, Fife accepted an assistant coaching position under Tom Izzo at Michigan State.
Fife spent the last 10 seasons in East Lansing under Izzo. He was promoted to associate head coach before the start of the 2018-19 season. He’s worked with a host of NBA players like Miles Bridges, Denzel Valentine, Bryn Forbes, Gary Harris, Jaren Jackson Jr., Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman. The Spartans have reached the Final Four twice in his tenure at Michigan State.
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