Tara VanDerveer Passes Coach K For Most Wins All-Time

Since taking over the reins of the Stanford women’s basketball program in 1985, Tara VanDerveer has transformed the Cardinals into one of the premier programs in the nation. Her long-time commitment to the sport and to Stanford culminated in a record-breaking victory on Sunday. As the No. 8 Cardinals beat Oregon State 65-56, VanDerveer’s team swarmed her to congratulate her on become the winningest coach in NCAA basketball history.

The Cardinals win on Sunday was win No. 1,203 of VanDerveer’s illustrious career, which moved her past former Duke coaching legend Mike Krzyzewski to hold the new record.

TARA VANDERVEER DID THAT 🔥

No basketball coach in NCAA history has won as many games as her‼️ pic.twitter.com/8fj7EbI1Am

— ESPN (@espn) January 21, 2024

Path to the Record for Tara VanDerveer

VanDerveer has coached women’s basketball for nearly half a century, starting her career at Idaho. After just two seasons, VanDerveer made the move to the Big Ten with Ohio State, where she emerged as one of the conference’s best coaches. She won back-to-back Big Ten Coach of the Year awards before departing to become the head coach at Stanford.

At Stanford, VanDerveer completely transformed the program. In her first two seasons, the Cardinals went a combined 27-29. However, Stanford has lost 10 or more games in just four seasons since then.

The Cardinals have made 35-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, not including the 2020 tournament that was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program has won 26 regular season conference championships, 16 conference tournament championships and made 15 Final Four Appearances.

VanDerveer has also led Stanford to three National Championships, most recently in 2021.

Success Goes Beyond Results

Despite an incredibly successful coaching career at Stanford, VanDerveer emphasized that success is measured beyond wins and losses.

VanDerveer also made sure to give credit to not only her assistant coaches, but the players she has coached along the way.

VanDerveer’s Call for Support

Although women’s basketball was in the headlines on Sunday after the record-breaking win, VanDerveer used the moment to call for support of the sport.

Women’s basketball is in the midst of its best stretch in years, with stars including Caitlin Clark, making highlight-reel plays on a weekly basis.

Last year’s Women’s NCAA Tournament saw yet another increase in ratings, which has been the trend for the past few years. The tournament as a whole saw a 16% climb in average viewers, which points to the direct the sport is heading.

VanDerveer hopes that more people will continue to recognize the talent that the sport currently has on display.