Current:Home > FinanceStanford's Tara VanDerveer, winningest coach in NCAA basketball history, announces retirement -TradeBridge
Stanford's Tara VanDerveer, winningest coach in NCAA basketball history, announces retirement
View
Date:2025-04-12 17:32:26
The winningest coach in college basketball history is calling it a career.
Stanford women's basketball head coach Tara VanDerveer is retiring, she announced Tuesday.
"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."
VanDerveer started her 45-year coaching career at Idaho in 1978. After five seasons at Ohio State, she arrived at Stanford in 1985 and coached the team for 38 seasons. With 1,216 victories, she's the leader in all-time wins for an NCAA college basketball coach. Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma is three wins behind her at 1,213.
VanDerveer took Stanford to 14 Final Fours and three national championships, the last coming in 2021. Stanford also won 26 Pac-12 regular-season titles and 15 Pac-12 tournament championships and has 35 NCAA Tournament appearances.
FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA women's basketball scores, schedules, teams and more.
Even with all of her success in the college ranks, VanDerveer is also known for her success coaching the U.S women's national team. She took the head coaching job in 1995, and as a result of preparing for the 1996 Summer Olympics, she took one season off from Stanford to focus on the national team. That team — with players like Lisa Leslie, Katrina McClain and Sheryl Swoopes — is regarded as one of the greatest national teams in women's basketball history. The U.S. was 52-0 in exhibition games and had a perfect 8-0 record at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics to win gold.
She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.
"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," she said. "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 said Kate Paye, who played under VanDerveer from 1991-95 and has been on her coaching staff for the past 17 seasons, is in negotiations to succeed the legendary coach.
A press conference for VanDerveer is planned for Wednesday afternoon, the school said, adding she will continue to be involved with the university and its athletic department in an advisory capacity.
veryGood! (5)
Related
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- Algerian boxer Imane Khelif speaks out at Olympics: 'Refrain from bullying'
- Frontier Airlines pilot arrested at Houston airport, forcing flight’s cancellation
- For Canada, anything short of men's basketball medal will a disappointment
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Jenelle Evans’ Son Jace Is All Grown Up in 15th Birthday Tribute
- Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s Son Pax Recovering From Trauma After Bike Accident
- A college closes every week. How to know if yours is in danger of shutting down.
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Sha'Carri Richardson gets silver but no storybook ending at Paris Olympics
Ranking
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- Àngela Aguilar, Christian Nodal are married: Revisit their relationship
- Olympic sport climbers face vexing boulders as competition gets underway at Paris Games
- Frontier Airlines pilot arrested at Houston airport, forcing flight’s cancellation
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 finale is a big anticlimax: Recap
- Recovering from a sprained ankle? Here’s how long it’ll take to heal.
- Alabama man on work trip stops to buy $3 quick pick Powerball ticket, wins 6-figure jackpot
Recommendation
How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
Inside Jana Duggar's World Apart From Her Huge Family
USA's Suni Lee won Olympic bronze in a stacked bars final. Why this one means even more
Amazon: Shoppers are distracted by big news events, like assassination attempt
A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
American Kristen Faulkner makes history with first road race gold in 40 years
2024 Olympics: Anthony Ammirati and Jules Bouyer React After Going Viral for NSFW Reasons
Miss USA Alma Cooper crowned amid controversial pageant year