SUMMARY
- Tara VanDerveer has been a coach for the Stanford Cardinal since 1985.
- She has the most wins by any coach in the NCAA circuit.
Tara VanDerveer is a legend in the sport of basketball and her work surpasses a lot of what current NBA or WNBA coaches have done. She is possibly the most accomplished head coach in college basketball at the moment. Her journey as a coach began in the year 1978 when she trained athletes at the University of Idaho. Then she became the head coach of Ohio State and eventually got recruited by Standford.
Since 1985, VanDerveer has been coaching the Stanford Cardinal. In 1990, 1992, and eventually in 2021, she led the Cardinal team to NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Championships. The 5x National Coach of the Year was also the mastermind behind the USAB Women’s Team’s success on various occasions in the past. She managed to win three gold medals and a bronze plate during the 90s.
Tara VanDerveer is undoubtedly extremely successful. It has been close to 39 years since she first commenced her journey at Stanford and she currently has the most wins recorded by any NCAA coach. With her level of success, there is bound to be a set of individuals who envy all the success. There were rumors about VanDerveer being g*y, and multiple recruits used this as a tactic to convince parents to reject Stanford.
Tara VanDerveer was rumored to be in a relationship with Amy Tucker
While Tara VanDerveer coached at Ohio State, there was an athlete under her named Amy Tucker. The latter played for Ohio State between 1978 and 1982. It was during her final two years that she played under VanDerveer. Eventually, Tucker chose to follow in her guru’s path and ended up becoming an assistant to Tara at Stanford in 1985. Five years later, Tucker was promoted to associate head coach.
Amy took over the Cardinals coaching team while VanDerveer was away training the Woman’s Nation Team. Once the latter returned, Tucker resumed as an associate head coach and eventually retired in 2017. There were rumors regarding a possible spark between Tucker and VanDerveer. However, this remained a rumor as neither party addressed it or confirmed anything.
Tara VanDerveer has passed Coach K for the most wins by a basketball coach in NCAA history 👏
1,203 wins pic.twitter.com/vPnWaiSaDx
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) January 21, 2024
However, Tara VanDerveer faced the worst when a recruiter tried to drag her name through the dirt. Mother of Chelsea Trotter, a basketball player who had Stanford at the top of her list, once said, “I heard coaches make comments like, ‘We’re more like a family at our school than at Stanford.’ I knew what they meant when they referred to VanDerveer’s lifestyle.”
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the only time VanDerveer had to deal with recruiters trying to use personal information to get parents to side with other schools. VanDerveer had to face criticism during house visits while recruiting players as well. But it isn’t confirmed whether she is gay or not. VanDerveer has not disclosed any personal information.