STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Tara VanDerveer gave her time and energy to a young Dawn Staley behind the scenes years before the South Carolina coach started winning championships or delivering an improbable undefeated season.
The winningest basketball coach in NCAA history announced her retirement Tuesday night after 38 seasons leading the Stanford women’s team and 45 years overall. A news conference was scheduled for Wednesday.
VanDerveer surpassed Mike Krzyzewski for the wins record in January. She departs with 1,216 victories at Idaho, Ohio State and Stanford.
“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.”
Stanford, which lost to North Carolina State in a regional semifinal this year after last season’s second-round defeat at home to Mississippi, will play in the Atlantic Coast Conference next season after the Pac-12 imploded — changes that VanDerveer called “sad.”
UConn coach Geno Auriemma called it a “monumental day in women’s basketball, and in basketball in general.”
“When you’ve coached for this extended period of time and you’ve accomplished what Tara’s accomplished, it has an incredible effect on the basketball community,” Auriemma said. “The number of wins, the national championships, the Hall of Fame. She’s had an incredible career and she’s left a great impact on the sport. It’s been exciting to compete against her all these years.”
