Last year, Tara VanDerveer became the all-time winningest coach in women's college basketball with victory No. 1099. Over the course of her career, not only has she helped to influence modern women’s basketball in the United States and coached some of the greatest players, but she has also asserted herself as a strong advocate for gender equality in sports.
She first attended the University of Albany to play basketball before being transferred to Indiana University in her sophomore year. She then graduated from Ohio State with her Master's in sports administration in 1978.
That same year, she began her college coaching career at Idaho, where she was named the third head coach in program history before taking over the role of head coach at Stanford in 1985.
VanDerveer became internationally known in 1996 when she guided the U.S. Olympic women's basketball team to a gold medal at the Atlanta Games. Overall, she led the team to four gold medals and one bronze medal.
In addition to her incredible 1,000-win career, she also takes time to fight against sexism in the industry. For instance, she once pointed out the difference in NCAA financial rewards for men’s and women’s tournaments.
"With the obvious disparity between the women's and men's tournaments, the message that is being sent to our female athletes and women across the world, is that you are not valued at the same level as your male counterparts. This is wrong and unacceptable," she said.
As another of her life-long commitments is to support women in coaching, no one would be surprised to hear that she only ever hired one male assistant coach.
“I actually think that all basketball staff male and female, would benefit from having both men and women on it,” she once explained. “But because we’re not included in men’s basketball, I feel a responsibility to help develop women in women’s basketball.”
Inspired by her involvement, the Women’s Sports Foundation created the Tara VanDerveer Fund, which honors her legacy by providing fellowships for aspiring female coaches in all collegiate sports and opportunities for women coaches to excel.
VanDerveer’s longevity in the sport, along with her drive and career achievements, have cemented her as a mentor and role model for many.