That the announcement would come at 10:35 p.m. Eastern on a Tuesday after the season had already finished says everything you need to know about Tara VanDerveer, the winningest coach college basketball has ever seen.
Because it was never about her or her ego. It was never about garnering the headlines or making sure she got into print the next day. It was about the game and the future of the game. It was about everyone else.
After 45 years on a sideline, VanDerveer — who announced she would retire on May 8, exactly 39 years to the day she was hired at Stanford — can walk away from women’s basketball knowing she left it better than she found it.
Her official statistics will state that she won 1,216 games, three national titles and 14 Final Fours. Just one losing season in more than four decades, including 38 years at Stanford. Alone, she has more wins than 344 Division I basketball programs and her coaching tree stretches across the country. Not to mention that 1996 Olympic gold medal, the one that started Team USA’s dynasty, was won under the leadership of VanDerveer.
The sport’s all-time wins leader.
A legend of the game.
And the steward of a sisterhood that spans generations.🗞️ » https://t.co/ByAigYapHt pic.twitter.com/ElLosK4T2R
— Stanford WBB 🤓🏀…
