University of Idaho
Tara VanDerveer was the coach of which team from 1978 to 1980?
Tara VanDerveer Tara Ann VanDerveer ( born June 26 , 1953 ) is an American basketball coach who has been the head womens basketball coach at Stanford University since 1985 . Designated the Setsuko Ishiyama Director of Womens Basketball , VanDerveer led the Stanford Cardinal to three NCAA Womens Division I Basketball Championships : in 1990 , 1992 and 2021 . She stepped away from the Stanford program for a year to serve as the U.S . national team head coach at the 1996 Olympic Games . VanDerveer is the 1990 Naismith National Coach of the Year and a ten-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year . She is also one of only nine NCAA Womens Basketball coaches to win over 900 games , and one of ten NCAA Division I coaches – mens or womens – to win 1,000 games . Van Derveer was inducted into the Womens Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002 . On December 15 , 2020 she passed Pat Summitt for most wins in womens college basketball history . Early years . VanDerveer was born on June 26 , 1953 , to Dunbar and Rita VanDerveer , who named their first child Tara after the plantation in Gone with the Wind . She was born in Melrose , Massachusetts , a part of Greater Boston , but grew up in a small town in West Hill , near Schenectady , New York . Her parents were interested in a well-rounded education . Her father was studying for a doctorate at the school now known as the University at Albany . He took the family to Chautauqua Institution in the summer , where she immersed in arts as well as sports . She still holds the Chautauqua Boys and Girls Club record for the longest Softball throw in 1967 . At the age of ten , her parents bought her a flute , and arranged for lessons . Two years later , one of the premier flutists in the world was staying in Chautauqua , and her father arranged for lessons with this distinguished teacher . Although she learned to play , she did not enjoy the experience , and gave up the flute in ninth grade . The love of music stayed with her though , and in later years she would take up the piano . There were no sports teams for girls when she was in high school , but she played a number of sports including basketball , in rec leagues and pickup . When she was younger , she played with both boys and girls . As she entered her high school years , the girls dropped out for other interests , so she was more apt to play with boys . To help make sure she would be chosen , she bought the best basketball she could afford , so if the boys wanted to play with her basketball , they would have to pick her . Her father wasnt completely supportive of her basketball interest , calling her in from the neighbors basketball hoop , telling her , Basketball wont take you anywhere . Come in and do your algebra . Tara was equally certain that algebra wasnt going to take her anywhere . Her family moved to Niagara Falls in her sophomore year in high school . The house in West Hill had a gravel driveway , making a basketball hoop impractical , but her parents got her a hoop for Christmas when they were in Niagara Falls . By then , she thought she was too old for basketball , although she would take it up again after she transferred to Buffalo Seminary , an all-girls college preparatory school , in her junior year . She ended up earning a place in the Buffalo Seminarys Athletic Hall of Fame . College . VanDerveer was determined to play basketball in college . Her first choice was Mount Holyoke , but as one of five children , it wasnt financially possible for her to attend Mount Holyoke , so she chose Albany where her father had studied for his doctorate . It wasnt a great team , but she knew the coach , which helped with the decision . The team turned out not be challenging enough . Although naturally a guard , she jumped center , and led the team in many categories , despite being the freshman on the team . She decided she needed a bigger challenge so she talked some of her friends into attending the AIAW National Championship , where she watched many teams , took notes , and decided where she wanted to go . She chose Indiana where she transferred and spent three years , making the Deans List each of the three years . In her sophomore year , 1973 she helped the team reach the Final Four of the AIAW championship , losing in the semi-finals to Queens College . At that time , the mens basketball team at Indiana was coached by future Hall of Fame coach Bobby Knight . While Knight was not a direct influence on VanDerveers choice of school , he may have had an indirect effect . The Indiana womens coach , Bea Gorton , patterned her style of play and practices after Knight , and it was the observation of the style of play at the AIAW event that persuaded her to choose Indiana . The effect would become more direct . VanDerveer enrolled in Knights coaching basketball classes at IU and regularly observed his teams practices . VanDerveer carried what she learned from Knight to her practices at Stanford . Coaching career . After completing college , VanDerveer took a year off , with a plan to return to law school . When she ran out of money she returned home . When her parents realized she was doing little beyond playing chess and sleeping , they urged her to help with her sister Maries basketball team . Her sister was five years younger , and by the time Marie reached high school , the school had basketball teams for girls . The experience was exasperating in some ways , as the girls did not take it seriously , but VanDerveer realized coaching was something she loved . VanDerveer sent out resumes to twenty schools , looking for a graduate assistant job , which is an unpaid position . She only got two responses , one of which was for Ohio State , where the athletic director had remembered her from Indiana . To prepare herself , she attended a coaching clinic taught by Knight . When she had attended his practices , she had stayed out of sight , but enrolled in a class , she followed her parents advice and sat up front . One of the coaches asked if she was lost . Knight embarrassed her with one of his questions , but she didnt stop attending , although she moved back a few rows . She was hired as an assistant coach to the varsity and the head coach of the JV . In her first year , she coached the JV team to an 8–0 season . That caught the attention of Marianne Stanley at Old Dominion , who offered her an assistant coaching position . VanDerveer wanted to finish her masters degree , so accepted a paid position at Ohio State , at a salary less than a quarter of the Old Dominion offer . Idaho . After two years , in which she earned a masters degree in sports administration , she applied for the head coaching position at the University of Idaho . In her interview , when asked what she was going to do to be successful , she responded work . When they asked her to elaborate , she responded , hard work . She got the job . When she arrived at Idaho , the team had only one winning season in their first four years . Under VanDerveer , the team improved to 17–8 in her first year , the 1978 season . The team won the first game of the season , beating the Northern Montana Skylights 80–78 , which represented the first of VanDerveers wins . The following year , the team improved to 25–6 , which earned the team an invitation to the AIAW Womens Basketball Tournament ( the precursor to the NCAA National Championships ) . Ohio State . VanDerveer returned to Ohio State as head coach in 1981 . On February 3 , 1985 , Ohio State played Iowa . The Ohio State team was unbeaten in conference play , while Iowa had just a single loss . Iowa was coached by future Hall of Fame coach C . Vivian Stringer . The game was at Carver-Hawkeye Arena which had 15,500 seats . University officials had to close the doors and turn fans away . The turnstiles recorded 22,157 . At the time , this was a record number of fans to watch a womens basketball game . Fans sat in the aisles , and the fire marshal sent a letter of reprimand to Christine Grant , who was then the director of womens athletics at Iowa . The letter still hangs prominently on Grants wall . Ohio State won the game 56–47 , but it is the attendance record that the two coaches remember . Stanford . By 1985 , VanDerveer had developed Ohio State into a nationally ranked team , breaking into the Top 20 in 1984 , and reaching number 7 in the final rankings of 1985 . Their success in 1985 earned a two seed in the 1985 NCAA Womens Division I Basketball Tournament . They made it to the Elite Eight , but lost by four points to eventual national champion Old Dominion . While Stanford would later become one of the nations powerhouses in womens basketball , in 1985 it was coming off a 9–19 year following a 5–23 year , with only 300 fans a game . Despite this challenge , Andy Geiger convinced VanDerveer to come to Stanford to become the head coach . VanDerveer later recounted that her friends told her going to Stanford was a bad move , because Stanford was too brainy to be good in sports . She said , My dad told me I was crazy to take this job . He said , You’ll be unemployed and coming home to live with us in three months . VanDerveers first year with Stanford was a step backward for the coach . After four consecutive 20-plus win seasons at Ohio State , the Cardinal finished under .500 in her first year , with a 13–15 record , and barely improved that the following year , reaching 14–14 . By her third year , when she was playing her own recruits , and the team was now following her coaching philosophy , the record jumped to 27–5 . Stanford did not earn a bid to the NCAA tournament in either of her first two years , and had not attended since 1982 , but earned a bid in 1988 , reaching the Sweet Sixteen , and has earned an invitation to the tournament in every subsequent year . Another milestone was reached in the following year , when Stanford won the Pac-10 regular season , the first of many conference championships . They earned a two seed in the NCAA tournament , and played to their seed , losing to Louisiana Tech in the Midwest Regional Final . The pieces came together in 1990 , with one key being Jennifer Azzi . The 1990 Final Four would be held in Knoxville , Tennessee . Azzi was from Oak Ridge , not far from Knoxville . VanDerveer had traveled to Knoxville in 1985 , to try to persuade this potential star to play for Stanford . Azzi made the decision to go to Stanford , and now , four years later , brought the team to her parents house after beating Arkansas in the West Regional , reaching their first Final Four and a trip to Knoxville . Stanford faced Virginia in the semi-final , a team which was competing in their sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament , and had reached the Sweet Sixteen or Elite Eight in each of the last three years . Stanford beat Virginia 75–66 to advance to the National Championship game . The championship game pitted Stanford against Auburn , who had finished as runner-up in each of the last two Tournaments . Auburn opened up an early lead , but Azzi helped bring the team back to a tie score by halftime , and lead a run in the second half that would earn the Most Outstanding player award for Azzi , and the first National Championship for VanDerveer and Stanford . By 2019 Stanford had won two NCAA championships and 12 trips to the Final Four . VanDerveers coaching record at Stanford was 900–192 , making her the fifth Division I coach to chalk up 900 wins at a single school . In December 14 , 2020 VanDerveer tied the record for coaching wins and then surpassed existing womens game wins record ( held by Pat Summitt ) when Stanford beat Pacific on December 16 , 2020 . In April 2021 , VanDerveer led the Cardinals to their third NCAA title with a 54-53 victory over their Pac-12 rival Arizona Wildcats . It marked their first title in 29 years . Olympics . Although the USA Basketball womens national team had considerable success in the 1980s—winning the 1984 Olympics , the 1986 World Championship , the 1988 Olympics , and the 1990 World Championship—there were signs of concern . The USA womens Pan American team , while not formally the national team , has , since the mid-1970s , included many of the same players as the national team . The Pan Am team in 1991 would finish third , signaling a potential end to Team USAs past dominance . The national team finished third at the 1992 Olympics , and third again in the 1994 World Championship . The 1995 Pan Am Games were cancelled , so the national team players did not have a win after the 1992 Olympics . The USA Basketball organization , with input from VanDerveer , decided to depart from the usual strategy to form a team a few weeks before the event , which severely limited the practice time . Instead , they decided to form a full-time national team to stay together for a year , preparing to the 1996 Olympics . VanDerveer was chosen as head coach , but was expected to take a one-year sabbatical from her head coaching position at Stanford . The selection of VanDerveer was not surprising . The USA Basketball organization typically selects coaches for some of the junior teams , to assess who will be most qualified to lead the National Team at the Olympics . This was no exception . VanDerveer had worked with USA Basketball teams in 1986 and 1990 , and served as the head coach of the team representing the US at the 1991 World University Games . That team went 8–0 and won the gold medal in Sheffield , England . Two years later , she coached the team in the World Championship qualifying event . She continued at the coach of the National team at the 1994 World Championships in Sydney , where the USA team won the bronze medal . Two months later , VanDerveer coached the USA Goodwill Games team to a 4–0 record and a gold medal at the 1994 Goodwill Games in Saint Petersburg . So when it was time to select the Olympic coach , VanDerveer had coached several USA Basketball teams , including the full national team . The previous involvement of VanDerveer meant she was the obvious choice as coach , but she was initially reluctant to take the position , as she had decided that to do it properly , she would need to take a leave of absence from Stanford . In her words , When youre representing your country , its not something you want to mess up . She eventually decided to take the position , and did take the leave of absence , with Amy Tucker and Marianne Stanley taking over the reins at Stanford in her absence . Prior to 1996 , the head coach had much input into the team selection . While the USA Basketball organization selected the pool of potential players , the head coach chose the final team . That changed in 1996 , when USA Basketball decided to take over the selection role . The initial selection was of 11 players , with plans to add a 12th player later , which would allow the organization to determine what was most needed . The lack of input lead to some differences of opinions , as VanDerveer was concerned about teams like China with a 68 ( 2.03 m ) center . She wanted more size than the USA Basketball organization chose . Although she made her feelings known on some occasions , when she vented her frustrations to her longtime assistant Amy Tucker , who was taking over as interim head coach ( along with Marianne Stanley ) , Tucker reminded her that she had committed to coach whomever was selected , and VanDerveer kept commitments . Although Team USA would win all eight games in the 1996 Olympics , with the closest game being a 15-point victory over Japan , VanDerveer was not certain of victory , even as the team was en route to a 52–0 pre-Olympic record against college and national teams . After beating the Cuban national team on May 26 , 1996 , in Townsville , Australia , the team record reached 44–0 . In their next game against the Ukraine national team , played in Adelaide on May 14 , the USA team won again , but VanDerveer was not happy . Ukraine , at full strength , was not the best team in the world , and was not seen to be as strong as Russia or Brazil . Moreover , Ukraine was expected to add better players before the Olympics , yet the USA team won by only 11 points , 62–51 . VanDerveer recalled worrying at the time : Theres no way we can play like this and win a gold medal . A few days later , Team USA was down by 12 points at the half , but VanDerveer turned it into a positive opportunity . It was only an exhibition game , but she used it as a chance to show how the team should respond if down early in an Olympic game . The USA team went on to win that game by seven points . The opening game of the Olympics was against Cuba . Although the USA had played Cuba several times during their exhibition tour , and won handily , none of those games counted . A loss in the preliminary round wouldnt eliminate the team form medal contention , but a second loss would , so there was additional pressure . The USA team was playing in front of a home crowd , and played tight in the beginning , while Cuba hit six of their first eight shots to take a 14–7 lead . The team settled down , helped by a spark from the reserves , and went on to win 101–84 . The second game was against Ukraine , another team they had played in exhibition , but a team that had done well against the US , worrying VanDerveer . This time , the result would not be so close , and the USA team won their second game 98–65 . The third game was against Zaire . While the first two games were in the compact Morehouse College gym , filled to capacity with under 5,000 spectators , the third game would be in the Georgia Dome . VanDerveer expect more fans , but wasnt expecting 31,320 , representing the largest crowd in history to witness a womens basketball game . Although it was a home crowd , VanDerveer was happy that the opponent was Zaire , in case the size of the crowd made them nervous . Zaire was over-matched , and the USA team won 107–47 , ensuring a place in the medal rounds . The next game was against Australia , one of the stronger teams in the field . The game was the first game played by Team USA after the bombing incident which left the team with little sleep . The attendance set a new record , with 33,952 spectators . The game was close for much of the game , with no team leading by more than six points until late in the second half , when Team USA extended the margin and won 96–79 . The next game was against Japan . With no Japanese player over six feet tall ( 1.83 m ) , Team USA had a height advantage . The USA exploited the advantage , and opened up a 28-point lead , but Japan fought back with three-point shooting and cut the lead to 13 at one point . The final margin was 15 points , the closest game to that point . VanDerveers Olympic team was considered one of the best ever assembled , and compiled a 60–0 record over the course of the year , culminating in a gold medal at the Olympics in Atlanta . USA basketball . VanDerveer was the head coach of the team representing the US at the World University Games held in Sheffield , England in July 1991 . The USA team started out with a very strong offense , scoring over 100 points in each of the first four games . The fourth game was against the USSR , a team often challenging the US for the top spot , but the USA won 106–80 this time . The team fell short of 100 points in the game against Canada , but still won by 18 points . In the quarterfinal game , the USA won easily against Romania 135–53 , with Ruthie Bolton scoring 40 points . The game against China was more of a challenge . The USA team shot poorly , hitting only 36% of their shots , but the defense held China to 35% shooting , and won a three-point game , 79–76 . The gold medal match was against Spain , but the USA had a 13-point lead at halftime and won 88–62 . Bolton was the highest scorer for the USA team with 14 points per game , but Lisa Leslie and Carolyn Jones were close behind with 13 points per game . Coaching tree . Twelve of VanDerveers players and assistant coaches have gone on to head coaching positions : College head coaching record . Sources:Idaho , Ohio State , Big Ten , Stanford . Awards and honors . - 1984 – Big Ten Coach of the Year - 1985 – Big Ten Coach of the Year - Buffalo Seminarys Athletic Hall of Fame - 1988 – National Coach of the Year . - 1989 – Russell Athletic/WBCA National Coach of the Year - 1990 – National Coach of the Year . - 1990 – US Basketball Writers Association ( USBWA ) Coach of the Year award in 1990 . - 1995 – Amos Alonzo Stagg Coaching Award by the United States Sports Academy - 1995 – Indiana University Hall of Fame . - 1998 – Named to the Womens Sports Foundation International Womens Sports Hall of Fame ( Coach category ) - 1999 – Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame - 2002 – Elected to the Womens Basketball Hall of Fame , located in Knoxville , Tennessee . - 2010 – Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame - 2011 – WBCA Division I Womens Basketball Coach of the Year . - 2011 – Named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame . - 2011 – Naismith College Coach of the Year - 2011 – AP College Basketball Coach of the Year - 2018 – Carol Eckman Award Personal . VanDerveer is also an avid piano player . Her sister Heidi VanDerveer , who coached for several years with the WNBAs Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm , as well as Occidental College in Los Angeles , is now the head coach at UC San Diego .