Tara VanDerveer, winningest coach in college basketball history, announces retirement

Tara VanDerveer, the winningest coach in NCAA history with 1,216 victories, announced her retirement on Tuesday, concluding a 38-year run as the head coach of Stanford.

VanDerveer has been with the Cardinal since 1985, leading the program to three NCAA championships — in 1990, 1992 and 2021 — and 14 Final Four appearances over that span. A Naismith Hall of Fame inductee in 2011, VanDerveer became a standard-bearer for college coaches throughout her tenure. She did not cite a specific reason for her retirement but the school said VanDerveer, 70, will hold a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.

“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.”

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 🤓🏀 (@StanfordWBB) April 10, 2024

VanDerveer’s varsity head coaching career began in 1978, when the University of Idaho hired her to lead its program. After two seasons, she returned to Ohio State, where she had previously served as an assistant coach and its junior varsity head coach. In her third, fourth and fifth seasons there, she led the Buckeyes to the Big Ten title and NCAA Tournament appearances. Her success at OSU led to Stanford’s interest, and in her third year in Palo Alto, she guided the Cardinal to the Sweet 16.

That laid the foundation for decades of winning that followed. VanDerveer helped produce two WNBA No. 1 draft picks in Nneka Ogwumike (2012) and Chiney Ogwumike (2014), and several other professional players. Cameron Brink, a national champion on the 2021 Cardinal team and a two-time Pac-12 Player of the Year, is expected to be a lottery pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.

Stanford said that VanDerveer will continue to work with the school as an adviser. Her official last day will be May 8, the 39th anniversary of her hire.

“Tara’s name is synonymous with the sport and women’s basketball would not be what it is today without her pioneering work,” Stanford athletics director Bernard Muir said.

In January, VanDerveer passed former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski as college basketball’s all-time wins leader. The occasion was met with great fanfare, as former players witnessed the moment in-person and a congratulatory video message played that featured Krzyzewski, tennis legend Billie Jean King, South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr and many others. VanDerveer’s wins record could be broken as soon as next season, as UConn’s Geno Auriemma — who’s been with the Huskies since 1985 — has 1,213 career victories

VanDerveer’s tenure at Stanford also included a one-year hiatus, during the 1995-96 season, where she coached the U.S. women’s national team to an eventual gold medal in the Olympic Games in Atlanta. The team went undefeated in a 52-game, worldwide tour aimed at growing the popularity of the women’s game, and its success is largely credited as laying the groundwork for the WNBA, which began in June 1997.

In her final season as a head coach, VanDerveer led the Cardinal to an outright Pac-12 championship, the 28th conference crown in her 38-year tenure. Stanford earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where the Cardinal nearly lost in the second round at home for the second straight season, but were then upset in the Sweet 16 by NC State in what would be VanDerveer’s final game.

Afterward, she spoke about the player development she hoped to see during the offseason, giving no hint of her impending retirement.

However, the changing landscape of college basketball has been difficult for Stanford. The school didn’t have an official NIL collective until February, and in the age of the transfer portal, academic requirements make it prohibitive for players to transfer in. Combined with the move to ACC, VanDerveer’s role was becoming increasingly different and challenging. Still VanDerveer, who began her coaching career prior to the inclusion of the 3-point line, had made a career of adapting to the sport’s landscape.

“She just really understands the big picture,” Stanford assistant coach Kate Paye told The Athletic earlier this season. “It isn’t all about winning for her, it’s about building lifetime relationships and mentoring women and empowering women.”

On Tuesday, the school also announced that Paye, a former Stanford player from 1991-95 and 17-year assistant under VanDerveer, would be the Cardinal’s next head coach and that the school and Paye are in negotiations.

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(Photo: Brandon Vallance / Getty Images)