Name: Tara VanDerveer Position: Head Coach

Tara VanDerveer, who begins her 13th season on The Farm this fall, was named the third head womens varsity basketball coach at Stanford on May 7, 1985.

Now at the pinnacle of her career, VanDerveer has accumulated an impressive 458-121 (.791) record in 19 years of collegiate coaching. Additionally, during seven USA Basketball coaching assignments, VanDerveer has a remarkable 88-8 (.917) record. Currently, VanDerveer is fourth by winning percentage among active Division I womens basketball coaches. Her 458 victories is 17th among active coaches.

VanDerveer at Stanford
For more than 12 years, VanDerveer has guided the Cardinal to a 306-70 (.814) overall record and a 169-22 (.885) Pac-10 mark. During her time on The Farm, she has led Stanford to five Final Four appearances in eight years and two NCAA titles (1989-90 & 1991-92). Additionally, her teams have reached the Final Eight in seven of nine years and the Final Four in five of eight seasons. Four times, VanDerveer-coached squads have posted 30-win or better seasons (1989-90, 1991-92, 1994-95, 1996-97), while in postseason play, VanDerveers teams have gone 32-9 (.780) since the 1987-88 season.

Stanford teams have been dominant in both the Pac-10 and nationally as evident by VanDerveers numerous awards. Three times VanDerveer has collected National Coach of the Year (1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90) and District Coach of the Year (1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90) honors, and she has been named Pac-10 Coach of the Year on four occasions (1988-89, 1989-90, 1994-95, 1996-97). Additionally, VanDerveer earned Northern California Womens Intercollegiate Coach of the Year honors five times in six years (1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1991-92, 1992-93). For her contribution to the game, VanDerveer was inducted into the Womens Sports Foundation Hall of Fame in October, 1998.

Regarded as one of the nations best recruiters, VanDerveer and her staff routinely bring top classes to The Farm. The Stanford staff brought in the likes of Val Whiting, a two-time First Team All-America, and Molly Goodenbour, the 1991-92 Most Outstanding Player at both the NCAA West Regional and the Final Four. VanDerveers recruiting list reads like a Whos Who in womens basketball including 1996 Olympians Jennifer Azzi and Katy Steding along with Kristin Folkl, Christy Hedgpeth, Rachel Hemmer, Sonja Henning, Anita Kaplan, Kate Paye, Olympia Scott, Kate Starbird and Jamila Wideman. Of VanDerveers former players, nine played in the inaugural season of the American Basketball League, the most of any collegiate program: Goodenbour (Richmond, VA); Hemmer (Atlanta, GA); Azzi, Whiting, Kaplan, Henning (San Jose, CA); Steding (Portland, OR); Paye, and Hedgpeth (Seattle, WA). Additionally, Wideman started for the Los Angeles Sparks in the first season for the WNBA and she was joined in the league last season by Folkl, Vanessa Nygaard and Scott.

At Stanford, VanDerveer has coached two Naismith Players of the Year (Starbird and Azzi) and five Kodak All-Americas. Additionally, 21 different Stanford players have been All-Conference selections under VanDerveer and 21 players have participated in the USA Basketball Program.

VanDerveer earned her first NCAA Championship in 1989-90, when the Cardinal won its first 20 games en route to a 32-1 overall mark. Stanford set more than 100 school, conference and NCAA postseason records during that season. After defeating Mississippi and Arkansas in the West Regionals at Maples Pavilion, the Cardinal continued to roll on with a 75-66 win over Virginia and an 88-81 victory over Auburn to capture the first-ever NCAA title for the Cardinal.

Impressively, the Cardinal earned its second championship in 1991-92, despite the loss of three First Team All-Pac-10 players (Sonja Henning, Trisha Stevens, Julie Zeilstra) from the season before. The Cardinal won their first 10 games, finished 15-3 in conference to win the fourth straight Pac-10 title and went into the NCAA tournament on an upswing behind the solid play of Kodak First Team All-America Val Whiting. Stanford defeated Western Kentucky 78-62 in the championship game to end the season with their second title in three years and a 30-3 record.

Prior to Stanford
For five years prior to coming to Stanford (1980-85), VanDerveer led the Ohio State womens basketball team to national prominence. In five seasons, the Buckeyes won four Big Ten Championships, compiled four consecutive 20-win seasons and made two postseason appearances. In 1984-85, Ohio State finished seventh in the national rankings and was runner-up to eventual national champion Old Dominion. At Ohio State, VanDerveer was twice named Big Ten Coach of the Year (1983-84 & 1984-85).

Before Ohio State, VanDerveer served as head coach at the University of Idaho. In two years there (1978-80), she brought unprecedented success to Vandal womens basketball.

VanDerveer and USA Basketball
A veteran international coach, VanDerveer had served as head coach of six previous USA Basketball teams before being named the 1995-96 National Team head coach and the 1996 USA Olympic Team head coach on April 13, 1995.

The 1995-96 National Team posted a record of 52-0 before moving on to Olympic competition. At the Olympics in Atlanta, VanDerveers team accumulated an 8-0 record, including the 111-87 defeat of Brazil to capture the gold medal. The U.S. team finished with an unblemished 60-0 record. During the one-year National Team tour, the squad went 20-0 against collegiate teams. The gold medal by VanDerveers team was the third in five Olympic competitions for U.S. women.

For her efforts with the National/Olympic team, VanDerveer was honored with the 1996 USA Basketball National Coach of the Year Award. She was also selected as the 1996 USOC Elite Basketball Coach of the Year.

Prior to coaching the National Team, VanDerveer directed the 1994 USA Goodwill Games Team to a perfect 4-0 record and the gold medal in St. Petersburg, Russia. Also in 1994, she led the USA World Championship Team to the bronze medal and a tournament-best record of 7-1 in Australia. One year earlier, VanDerveer helped the United States earn its FIBA World Championship berth by coaching the team to a gold medal at the 1993 World Championship Qualifying Tournament in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

In 1991, VanDerveers USA World University Games team posted an 8-0 record and won the gold medal in Sheffield, England. VanDerveer also coached the 1990 USA Select Team and the 1986 U.S. Olympic Festival East Team.

Personal
The 45-year old VanDerveer is a 1975 graduate of Indiana University, where she was a Deans List scholar for three years and majored in sociology. As an athlete at Indiana, VanDerveer held one of the starting guard positions for three years on the womens basketball team. For her efforts at Indiana and her accomplishments after leaving the Hoosiers, VanDerveer was named to the Indiana University Hall of Fame in 1995.

VanDerveer is now an author, as her book Shooting from the Outside was released in September 1997. The book details her experiences with the 1996 U.S. National/Olympic team.

VanDerveer, a Boston native, who grew up in upstate New York, was born June 26, 1953. VanDerveer currently resides in Menlo Park, California.

Year-by-Year With Tara VanDerveer

Year     School      Record   Pct.   Post-Season
1978-79  Idaho        17-8   .680    
1979-80  Idaho        25-6   .806    AIAW
1980-81  Ohio State   17-15  .531   
1981-82  Ohio State   20-7   .741   
1982-83  Ohio State   23-5   .821   
1983-84  Ohio State   22-7   .759    NCAA
1984-85  Ohio State   28-3   .903    NCAA Round of 8
1985-86  Stanford     13-15  .464   
1986-87  Stanford     14-14  .500   
1987-88  Stanford     27-5   .844    NCAA Round of 16
1988-89  Stanford     28-3   .903    NCAA Round of 8

Year      School      Record   Pct.  Post-Season
1989-90   Stanford     32-1   .970   NCAA CHAMPIONS
1990-91   Stanford     26-6   .813   NCAA Final Four
1991-92   Stanford     30-3   .909   NCAA CHAMPIONS
1992-93   Stanford     26-6   .813   NCAA Round of 16
1993-94   Stanford     25-6   .806   NCAA Round of 8
1994-95   Stanford     30-3   .909   NCAA Final Four
1996-97   Stanford     34-2   .944   NCAA Final Four
1997-98   Stanford     21-6   .777   NCAA First Round 
Total     19 years    458-121 .791   13 appearances
at Idaho  2 years      42-14  .750   1 AIAW appearance
Ohio St.  5 years     110-37  .748   2 NCAA appearances
Stanford 12 years     285-64  .817   9 NCAA appearances

2 NCAA Championships

Tara VanDerveers USA Basketball Head Coaching Record

Year      Team                                     Record   Pct.   Medal
1996      U.S. Olympic Team                         8-0    1.000   Gold Medal
1995-96   USA National Team                        52-0    1.000
1994      USA Goodwill Games Team                   4-0    1.000   Gold Medal
1994      USA World Championship Team               7-1     .875   Bronze Medal
1993      USA World Championship Qualifying Team    6-1     .857   Gold Medal
1991      USA World University Games Team           8-0    1.000   Gold Medal
1990      USA Select Team                           2-3     .400
1986      U.S. Olympic Festival East Team           1-3     .250   
Fourth Place Totals    Seven assignments           88-8     .917   4 Golds,1 Bronze