The all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball, Tara VanDerveer cemented herself as one of the top coaches in the history of sport, both collegiately and internationally, and is a member of both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2011) and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (2002). She announced her retirement on April 9, 2024.
An ambassador for both Stanford University and the sport of college basketball, VanDerveer enjoyed an unprecedented level of success through an energetic and positive approach to the game. A five-time national coach of the year (1988, 1989, 1990, 2011, 2021) and 18-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year, VanDerveer, who prior to coming to Stanford served as head coach for a combined seven seasons at Idaho (1978-80) and Ohio State (1980-85), accumulated an impressive 1,216-271 (.818) record in her 45 years as a collegiate head coach and a 1,064-220 (.829) record over 38 seasons at Stanford.
VanDerveer won her 1,000th career game on Feb. 3, 2017, passed Pat Summitt (1,098) to become the winningest coach in women's college basketball history on Dec. 15, 2020, and surpassed Mike Krzyzewski (1,202) to become the winningest coach in NCAA basketball history on Jan. 21, 2024.
In 2020-21, VanDerveer led the Cardinal back atop the collegiate mountaintop, all while maneuvering a global pandemic. Stanford finished the year 31-2, won both the Pac-12 regular season and tournament championships, earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and claimed the national championship for the first time since 1992.
VanDerveer led her Stanford teams to three NCAA Championships (1990, 1992, 2021), one of four coaches in the history of the sport to win three titles. She advanced the Cardinal to 14 NCAA Final Four appearances, 26 Pac-12 regular-season titles, 15 Pac-12 Tournament crowns and 35 trips to the NCAA Tournament. She also guided Idaho to one AIAW Tournament appearance and Ohio State to a pair of NCAA Tournaments while twice being named Big Ten Coach of the Year.
Her teams won 20 or more games 39 times (an NCAA college basketball record), including each of her final 23 seasons, and collected at least 30 victories 18 times. VanDerveer built Stanford into a national power almost immediately upon arrival and maintained an unparalleled level of success for over three and a half decades. On Feb. 26, 2016 the Cardinal won its 1,000th game in program history, becoming the seventh Division I institution to reach the milestone, and did so in fewer games than all but two other schools. Upon her retirement, VanDerveer accounted for 1,064 of Stanford’s 1,240 total victories since its first varsity season in 1975 (85.8 percent).
Perhaps one of VanDerveer’s most notable attributes was her ability to connect with student-athletes and adapt to the ever-changing landscape of college athletics. Considered one of the nation’s premier recruiters, VanDerveer and her staff routinely brought top classes to The Farm. The Stanford staff brought in the likes of Jennifer Azzi and Kate Starbird, both of whom won women’s basketball’s highest individual honor - the James Naismith National Player of the Year Award (Azzi 1990; Starbird 1997) - as well as Candice Wiggins, who in 2008 joined Azzi (1990) as Stanford’s second recipient of the State Farm/WBCA Wade Trophy Player of the Year Award.
First-team All-Americans that flourished under VanDerveer’s guidance include Cameron Brink (2022-24), Haley Jones (2022), Kiana Williams (2021), Alanna Smith (2019), Chiney Ogwumike (2012, 2013, 2014), Nneka Ogwumike (2010, 2011, 2012), Jeanette Pohlen (2011), Jayne Appel (2009, 2010), Wiggins (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008), the program’s only four-time All-American to date, Nicole Powell (2002, 2003, 2004), Kristin Folkl (1998), Starbird (1996, 1997), Val Whiting (1992, 1993), Sonja Henning (1991) and Azzi (1989, 1990).
Overall, VanDerveer guided her players to two Wade Trophy Player of the Year honors, two Naismith Player of the Year honors, a WBCA Defensive Player of the Year and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, 38 first-team All-America honors (WBCA and Associated Press), 20 Pac-12 Player of the Year awards, 88 first team All-Pac-12 selections and nearly 40 appointments to USA Basketball teams.
Many of those players went on to have success at the professional level. During VanDerveer's tenure, Stanford had 34 players play in a regular-season WNBA game. Her program also boasted 15 first-round draft picks out of its 31 all-time selections, including 2016 WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike, and had seven players win a total of eight WNBA titles.
In 1995-96 VanDerveer served as head coach of the USA Basketball National Team, leading the team to a 52-0 exhibition record and then to the Olympic gold medal with a perfect 8-0 run at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
VanDerveer is a 1975 graduate of Indiana University, where she was a dean's list scholar for three years and a sociology major. While at Indiana, VanDerveer held one of the starting guard positions for three years on the women's basketball team. For her efforts at Indiana and her accomplishments after leaving the Hoosiers, VanDerveer was inducted into the Indiana University Hall of Fame in 1995.
An avid piano player in her spare time, VanDerveer was born June 26, 1953. A Boston native who grew up in upstate New York, she is also a published author. Her book Shooting From The Outside, which chronicled her 1996 Olympic and National Team experience, was released in September 1997.
VanDerveer’s Year-by-Year Record
| Year | School | Record | Conference | Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | Stanford | 30-6 | 15-3/1st Pac-12 | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 2022-23 | Stanford | 29-6 | 15-3/t1st Pac-12 | NCAA Second Round |
| 2021-22 | Stanford | 32-4 | 16-0/1st Pac-12 | NCAA Final Four |
| 2020-21 | Stanford | 31-2 | 19-2/1st Pac-12 | NCAA Champions |
| 2019-20 | Stanford | 27-6 | 14-4/t2nd Pac-12 | COVID-19 NCAA Tournament Cancellation |
| 2018-19 | Stanford | 31-5 | 15-3/2nd Pac-12 | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2017-18 | Stanford | 24-11 | 14-3/2nd Pac-12 | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
| 2016-17 | Stanford | 32-6 | 15-3/t2nd Pac-12 | NCAA Final Four |
| 2015-16 | Stanford | 27-8 | 14-4/t3rd Pac-12 | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2014-15 | Stanford | 26-10 | 13-5/t3rd Pac-12 | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
| 2013-14 | Stanford | 33-4 | 17-1/1st Pac-12 | NCAA Final Four |
| 2012-13 | Stanford | 33-3 | 17-1/t1st Pac-12 | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
| 2011-12 | Stanford | 35-2 | 18-0/1st Pac-12 | NCAA Final Four |
| 2010-11 | Stanford | 33-3 | 18-0/1st Pac-10 | NCAA Final Four |
| 2009-10 | Stanford | 36-2 | 18-0/1st Pac-10 | NCAA Runner-Up |
| 2008-09 | Stanford | 33-5 | 17-1/1st Pac-10 | NCAA Final Four |
| 2007-08 | Stanford | 35-4 | 16-2/1st Pac-10 | NCAA Runner-Up |
| 2006-07 | Stanford | 29-5 | 17-1/1st Pac-10 | NCAA Second Round |
| 2005-06 | Stanford | 26-8 | 15-3/1st Pac-10 | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2004-05 | Stanford | 32-3 | 17-1/1st Pac-10 | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2003-04 | Stanford | 27-7 | 14-4/t1st Pac-10 | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2002-03 | Stanford | 27-5 | 15-3/1st Pac-10 | NCAA Second Round |
| 2001-02 | Stanford | 32-3 | 18-0/1st Pac-10 | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
| 2000-01 | Stanford | 19-11 | 12-6/t1st Pac-10 | NCAA Second Round |
| 1999-00 | Stanford | 21-9 | 13-5/t2nd Pac-10 | NCAA Second Round |
| 1998-99 | Stanford | 18-12 | 14-4/3rd Pac-10 | NCAA First Round |
| 1997-98 | Stanford | 21-6 | 17-1/1st Pac-10 | NCAA First Round |
| 1996-97 | Stanford | 34-2 | 18-0/1st Pac-10 | NCAA Final Four |
| 1995-96 | USA Head Coach | -- | -- | -- |
| 1994-95 | Stanford | 30-3 | 17-1/1st Pac-10 | NCAA Final Four |
| 1993-94 | Stanford | 25-6 | 15-3/2nd Pac-10 | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 1992-93 | Stanford | 26-6 | 15-3/1st Pac-10 | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
| 1991-92 | Stanford | 30-3 | 15-3/1st Pac-10 | NCAA Champions |
| 1990-91 | Stanford | 26-6 | 16-2/1st Pac-10 | NCAA Final Four |
| 1989-90 | Stanford | 32-1 | 17-1/1st Pac-10 | NCAA Champions |
| 1988-89 | Stanford | 28-3 | 18-0/1st Pac-10 | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 1987-88 | Stanford | 27-5 | 14-4/3rd Pac-10 | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
| 1986-87 | Stanford | 14-14 | 8-10/t6th Pac-10 | -- |
| 1985-86 | Stanford | 13-15 | 1-7/5th Pac-West | -- |
| 1984-85 | Ohio State | 28-3 | 18-0/1st Big Ten | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 1983-84 | Ohio State | 22-7 | 17-1/1st Big Ten | NCAA First Round |
| 1982-83 | Ohio State | 23-5 | 15-3/t1st Big Ten | -- |
| 1981-82 | Ohio State | 20-7 | -- | NCAA First Round |
| 1980-81 | Ohio State | 17-15 | -- | -- |
| 1979-80 | Idaho | 25-6 | 10-2 Northwest Empire | AIAW Championships |
| 1978-79 | Idaho | 17-8 | -- | -- |
| 45 seasons | 1,216-271 (.818) | 576-90 (.865) » Pac-12 only |
Accolades and Honors
| Year | Honor |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Pac-12 Coach of the Year |
| 2022 | Pac-12 Coach of the Year |
| 2021 | Naismith Coach of the Year |
| USBWA National Coach of the Year | |
| Pac-12 Coach of the Year | |
| 2018 | WBCA Carol Eckman Integrity in Coaching Award |
| Pac-12 Coach of the Year | |
| 2014 | Pac-12 Coach of the Year |
| 2013 | WBCA Region 8 Coach of the Year |
| Pac-12 Coach of the Year | |
| 2012 | WBCA Region 8 Coach of the Year |
| Pac-12 Coach of the Year | |
| 2011 | Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
| Naismith Coach of the Year | |
| WBCA Coach of the Year | |
| Associated Press Coach of the Year (co) | |
| WBCA Region 8 Coach of the Year | |
| Pac-10 Coach of the Year | |
| 2010 | WBCA Region 8 Coach of the Year |
| 2009 | WBCA Region 8 Coach of the Year |
| Pac-10 Coach of the Year | |
| 2008 | Pac-10 Coach of the Year |
| 2007 | WBCA Region 8 Coach of the Year |
| 2006 | Pac-10 Coach of the Year |
| 2005 | Pac-10 Coach of the Year |
| 2003 | Pac-10 Coach of the Year |
| 2002 | Women's Basketball Hall of Fame |
| Pac-10 Coach of the Year | |
| 1997 | Pac-10 Coach of the Year |
| 1996 | USA Basketball Coach of the Year |
| 1995 | Pac-10 Coach of the Year |
| 1993 | Northern California Women's Intercollegiate Coach of the Year |
| 1992 | Northern California Women's Intercollegiate Coach of the Year |
| 1990 | Naismith Coach of the Year |
| U.S. Basketball Writers Association Coach of the Year | |
| WBCA Region 8 Coach of the Year | |
| Pac-10 Coach of the Year | |
| Northern California Women's Intercollegiate Coach of the Year | |
| 1989 | WBCA Coach of the Year |
| Converse Coach of the Year | |
| WBCA Region 8 Coach of the Year | |
| Pac-10 Coach of the Year | |
| Northern California Women's Intercollegiate Coach of the Year | |
| 1988 | Women's Basketball News Service Coach of the Year |
| WBCA Region 8 Coach of the Year | |
| Northern California Women's Intercollegiate Coach of the Year | |
| 1985 | Big Ten Coach of the Year |
| 1984 | Big Ten Coach of the Year |