Stanford University’s Tara VanDerveer, the all-time winningest coach in women’s college basketball, tied the NCAA record for career wins Friday with the Cardinal’s 88-63 victory over Oregon at the Stanford Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, California.
The victory gives VanDerveer 1,202 career wins during her 45-year coaching career, tying her with former Duke men’s basketball head coach and fellow Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski.
“It’s just a tribute to the great teams I had, the great places I’ve worked,” VanDerveer told the Pac-12 Network after the game when asked what the milestone meant to her. “I think it’s great for women’s basketball that there’s a lot of attention and we’re having just a super season.”
Vanderveer, 70, is in her 38th season at Stanford – 1985 to 1995 and 1996 through this season. She won three national titles at Stanford and was named the national coach of the year five times.
She also coached at the University of Idaho and Ohio State. In 2011, she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
A victory on Sunday at home against Oregon State would see her pass Krzyzewski as the all-time winningest college basketball coach with 1,203 wins.