Stanford naming basketball court, assistant position after longtime coach Tara VanDerveer
Tara VanDerveer will be forever honored at Maples Pavilion.
Stanford will rename its basketball court at Maples Pavillion after its longtime women’s basketball coach, the school announced on Thursday. The court will be officially named the “Tara VanDerveer Court,” marking a great way to honor the coach who spent nearly four decades with the program.
Stanford is also going to name one of its assistant coaching positions after VanDerveer.
Tara's name will forever hold a special place at Stanford.
🖊️ Tara VanDerveer Court
🖊️ The Tara VanDerveer Assistant Women's Basketball Coach#GoStanford— Stanford WBB 🤓🏀 (@StanfordWBB) May 9, 2024
The moves were made possible by a gift from two longtime Stanford donors.
“This endowment will go a long way to strengthening the future of Stanford women's basketball,” VanDerveer said in a statement. “I have many wonderful memories of leading the women's basketball program at Maples Pavilion. It's an honor, and a little surreal, to know that my name will be linked to both in these ways, and I look forward to celebrating with all our fans this fall."
VanDerveer announced last month that, after 38 seasons with the program and 45 seasons coaching in college basketball, she was going to retire. She racked up an NCAA record 1,216 wins throughout her coaching career, and finished with a 1,065-220 overall record at Stanford. She’s the winningest head coach in men’s and women’s Division I college basketball, slightly ahead of longtime UConn head coach Geno Auriemma.
VanDerveer led the Cardinal to the NCAA tournament 35 times in her 38 seasons with the program. They reached the Final Four 14 times and won three NCAA titles, most recently in 2021. They went 30-6 this past season, and were knocked out of the NCAA tournament in the Elite Eight.
Stanford has since promoted longtime assistant coach Kate Paye to replace VanDerveer. She played four seasons under VanDerveer at Stanford, and has been with the program for 17 seasons on her staff.
Stanford will officially honor VanDerveer and unveil the court at a game in November.
"Coach VanDerveer has served as an excellent global ambassador for Stanford throughout nearly 40 years of service," Stanford president Richard Saller said in a statement. "Her dedication to ensuring high academic and athletic standards drove our women's basketball program to new heights. Tara represents the best of Stanford: unsurpassed excellence with deep humility. We will be pleased to name the court in her honor and hope that it serves as a constant reminder for Cardinal student-athletes of her passion, care and grace."
