Fife also owns Indiana's all-time steals record (180) and earned the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award his senior season.
One of the more well-known plays of his college career came on a controversial call during the final seconds of a 2002 Sweet Sixteen game against Duke.
The Blue Devils were down by four points with enough time remaining for one play when Fife was called for fouling Jason Williams on a three-point shot.
Fortunately for Fife, Williams failed to make the free throw, and the Hoosiers advanced to the Elite Eight by holding on for a 74–73 win.
The Hoosiers continued their NCAA Tournament run, defeating Kent State and Oklahoma before falling to Maryland in the national championship game, 64–52.
[6] In his fifth season as coach, the 2009–10 Mastodons squad posted their first-ever winning record as a Division I basketball team.
Before the 2010–11 season, Fife had considered assistant coaching jobs at Indiana under Tom Crean and Michigan under John Beilein.
[11] Fife brought the defensive intensity he possessed as a player to his role as a coach, as the Spartans held opponents below a .400 field-goal percentage from 2011 to 2015, including ranking second nationally in both 2015–16 (.382) and in 2011–12 (.379), marking the best effort by MSU since 1959.
[14] On April 5, 2021, it was announced that Fife would be leaving Michigan State to join Mike Woodson's staff at Indiana.