Maples Pavilion court to be named after legendary Stanford women's basketball coach

The greatest coach in Cardinal history will get the ultimate honor at a home women's basketball game this season, commemorating her legendary career as the leader of the program.

Mar 8, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Tara VanDerveer directs a player in a game against the Oregon State Beavers during the second quarter at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

The greatest coach in Stanford sports history will soon have her name forever engraved in the place where she turned the women’s basketball program into the nation’s best.

On Sunday, Nov. 10, long-time women’s basketball coach Tara VanDerveer will have the court in Maples Pavilion named after her during a home game against Gonzaga. In what will be a public celebration and official unveiling, the court will be renamed to Tara VanDerveer court in honor of the coach that has won the most games as a college head coach in history.

VanDerveer, who was the women’s head coach from 1985-2024 (with a one season break in 1995-96 to focus on the Olympic team), won 1,216 games during her 40 year career including three NCAA championships, in 1990, 1992 and 2021, while also guiding the Cardinal to 14 appearances in the Final Four. Her 531 wins at home are a record at the time of her retirement in April.

In her career, VanDerveer has also been the head coach at Idaho (1978-1980) and Ohio State (1980-1985) before joining Stanford, while also spending time as head coach of the United States Women's National Team, winning a gold medal in the 1996 Olympics. Her accolade-filled career, which also includes five Coach of the Year awards, has earned her inductions into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.

Tipoff for the Nov. 10 game is slated for noon PT and will be shown on ESPN2.