Tara VanDerveer

The all-time winningest coach in women's college basketball, Tara VanDerveer has cemented herself as one of the top coaches in the history of the sport, both collegiately and internationally, and is a member of both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2011) and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (2002). She is also an inductee of the FIBA Hall of Fame and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame.

As the head coach for Stanford University from 1985 until her retirement in 2024, she has earned five national Coach of the Year titles, ten Pac-12 Coach of the Year awards, and numerous other accolades, including the John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award in 2014. VanDerveer's coaching prowess is reflected in her remarkable 1,125-255 (.815) overall record over 38 seasons, including a stellar 973-204 (.827) record in her tenure at Stanford. She also led the University of Idaho to its first winning season and had a successful tenure at Ohio State. Despite her retirement, VanDerveer will continue to work with Stanford and the Athletics Department in an advisory capacity.

The culmination of VanDerveer's career came in the 2021 season when she guided Stanford to its third national championship and surpassed the all-time wins record in women's college basketball previously held by Pat Summitt. With three NCAA titles and 13 Final Four appearances, VanDerveer has established herself as one of the sport's legendary figures. Her coaching legacy also includes leading the women's USA Basketball National Team to an undefeated exhibition record and an Olympic gold medal in 1996. Additionally, her Olympic team maintained a 60-0 record over the course of a year.

VanDerveer holds a degree from Indiana University, where she helped the team reach the Final Four of the AIAW championship in 1973. She is an accomplished pianist and the published author of "Shooting From the Outside: How a coach and her Olympic team transformed women's basketball." She spends much of her offseason at her cabin on a private lake in Minnesota. Twelve of her players and assistant coaches have gone on to head coaching positions, further extending her influence on the game.