Tara VanDerveer, the winningest coach in college basketball history, is retiring, Stanford University announced Tuesday night.
“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.”
Stanford is expected to promote assistant coach Kate Pay, who played for VanDerveer herself, to replace her next season. VanDerveer will remain on the Stanford staff in an advisory role.
VanDerveer, 70, has posted a college basketball record 1,216 wins during a 45-year career, the last 38 years with the Cardinal.
“Tara’s name is synonymous with the sport and women’s basketball would not be what it is today without her pioneering work,” Stanford athletic director Bernard Muir said in a statement. “She has been devoted to this campus for 40 years and a servant to all the student-athletes who have come through her program. 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.”
She joined the Cardinal in 1985, after the team posted a 9-19 record for the 1984-85 season. VanDerveer guided the Cardinal to the Sweet 16 in three years and they won their first NCAA championship in 1990.
During her career at Stanford, VanDerveer reached the NCAA tournament 35 times, made 14 Final Fours and won three NCAA championships — first in 1990, and then again in 1992 and 2021. The Cardinal posted a 30-6 record this past season, but they were eliminated after a 77-67 loss to North Carolina State in a Sweet 16 game of the NCAA Tournament.
VanDerveer previously coached at Idaho (1978-80) and Ohio State (1980-85). She was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.