Vavae Tata

Vavae Tata is in his second season as a defensive assistant on Stanford’s coaching staff after joining the program in 2012.

Tata spent two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at San Jose State, and prior to joining the Spartans staff in 2010, Tata spent two campaigns as a student assistant coach at UCLA, where he worked with the defensive linemen and special teams.

In the summer of 2011, Tata participated in the Bill Walsh Minority Coaching Fellowship with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Tata began his coaching career in 2006 as the defensive line coach for McKinley High School in Honolulu.

A 2008 graduate of UCLA, Tata was a four-year letterwinner for the Bruins from 1994-98. As defensive end, he played in the 1995 Aloha Bowl and 1999 Rose Bowl. Following his playing career, Tata worked in the mortgage and banking industries in California and Hawaii.