Stanford University’s Tara VanDerveer, whose been at the helm since 1985, is now the crème de la crème. She is the all-time winningest coach in all of NCAA basketball history, (men’s and women’s) after the Cardinal defeated the Oregon State Beavers 65-56 Sunday at the Maples Pavilion in northern California.
The victory gives VanDerveer 1,203 career wins during her 45-year coaching career, which got underway at the University of Idaho in 1978, one win more than former Duke men’s basketball coach and fellow Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski.
Stanford was led by junior forward Kiki Iriafen, who was a monster on the glass, collecting 12 boards and a career-high 36 points.
After the milestone win, VanDerveer was her usual humble and gracious self about what the record means.
“It means I’ve coached a lot of great players, had great staff, worked at great universities, and I’m just so blessed and so thankful,” VanDerveer told broadcasters at the Pac-12 Network after the game.
Embed from Getty ImagesVanderveer, 70 years-of-age, is in her 38th season at Stanford, 1985 to 1995 and 1996 through this season. She has captured three national titles at Stanford ((1990, 1992, 2021), 14 Final Four appearances, 25 Pac-12 regular-season titles and 34 trips to the NCAA tournament, and took home national coach of the year honors a handful of times.
In 1996, VanDerveer took a leave of absence from the college game to spearhead the U.S. women’s national team to a gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics, which helped make possible the launch of the WNBA in 1997.
She also coached at the University of Idaho (1978-80) where she won 42 games and Ohio State (1980-1985), where she was victorious in 110 contest. In 2011, she took her rightful place and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
On Friday, Stanford’s victory over Oregon saw VanDerveer tie with Krzyzewski for the NCAA record for career wins.
“It’s just a tribute to the great teams I had, the great places I’ve worked,” VanDerveer told the Pac-12 Network after that game. “I think it’s great for women’s basketball that there’s a lot of attention and we’re having just a super season.”
Approximately 30 of VanDerveer’s former players, including Jayne Appel, Jennifer Azzi, Ros Gold-Onwude and Chiney Ogwumike, were among the 7,022 fans in attendance to celebrate the achievement. Former Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck and No. 1 overall draft pick by the Indianapolis Colts was also in attendance.
