The all-time winningest coach in NCAA history, who used to consider calling it a career at the end of every season, finally did just that. After 45 seasons as a head coach, 38 of them at Stanford, Tara VanDerveer retired on Tuesday.
During her career, she went to the NCAA tournament 38 times — all but two of them with the Cardinal — 14 Final Fours and won three national championships. She holds the record for most wins in college basketball — men’s and women’s — across all divisions. She coached the U.S. national women’s team, which included the likes of Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes and Dawn Staley, to a gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. Overall, VanDerveer had a winning percentage of .818.
VanDerveer’s legacy in the sport will be long lasting. VanDerveer was a coach’s coach. She took time to mentor other coaches, exchanging game film with some or going to the visiting locker room to offer encouraging words and insight.
She was instrumental in building Stanford into a powerhouse season after season and building the Pac-12 into the country’s most dominant conference this past season.
With the Hall of Fame coach’s career ending, a look back at some of VanDerveer’s milestones:
1978: VanDerveer recorded the first of her…
