|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Tara VanDerveer, who over the course of her storied coaching career led Stanford University’s women’s basketball team to three national championships and became the winningest coach in college basketball history, announced on April 9 that she is retiring.
According to the university’s announcement, she will continue to work as an adviser to the university’s Athletics Department after her retirement, which is slated for May 8, the 39th anniversary of her original hire.
VanDerveer had spent 45 years as a college coach, which included stints at the University of Idaho and Ohio State University before she arrived at Stanford in 1985. In her 38 seasons, she established herself as a preeminent NCAA coach, leading the Cardinal to 14 Final Fours and to college championships in 1990, 1992 and 2021.
Between 2001 and 2009, the team won nine consecutive Pac-10 tournaments. She was recognized as the conference’s coach of the year 17 times during her run at Stanford.
VanDerveer took a break from the university in 1996 to coach the United States women’s national basketball team in the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The team went undefeated and won the gold medal.
She hit another career milestone on Jan. 21, when she picked up her 1,203rd victory in a win over Oregon State University and passed former Duke University coach Mike Krzyzewski for the most wins in college basketball history. She retires with 1,216 victories.
“Basketball is the greatest group project there is and I am so incredibly thankful for every person who has supported me and our teams throughout my coaching career,” VanDerveer said in a statement. “I’ve been spoiled to coach the best and brightest at one of the world’s foremost institutions for nearly four decades.
“Coupled with my time at Ohio State and Idaho, and as head coach of the United States National Team, it has been an unforgettable ride. The joy for me was in the journey of each season, seeing a group of young women work hard for each other and form an unbreakable bond. Winning was a byproduct. I’ve loved the game of basketball since I was a little girl, and it has given me so much throughout my life. I hope I’ve been able to give at least a little bit back.”
The university announced that Kate Paye, who played under VanDerveer from 1991 to 1995 and who had spent 17 seasons as a member of her staff, will be VanDerveer’s successor.
Bernard Muir, the university’s director of athletics, lauded VanDerveer’s four decades of service and said in a statement that women’s basketball would not be what it is today without her pioneering work.
“She has been devoted to this campus for 40 years and a servant to all the student-athletes who have come through her program,” Muir said. “Tara built one of the sport’s iconic programs almost immediately upon her arrival at Stanford, and then maintained that standard for nearly four decades.
“An energetic and positive teacher, a Hall of Famer, a trusted friend and mentor, Tara’s impact is simply unmatched, and I don’t think it’s a stretch to characterize her as one of the most influential people to ever be associated with this university. We will look forward to finding the appropriate ways to honor her deep impact and legacy here at Stanford.”