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Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer Passes Mike Krzyzewski as College Basketball’s Winningest Coach

The longtime Stanford Cardinal women’s coach eclipsed the Duke Blue Devils legend Sunday.

Thomas Neumann

Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer Passes Mike Krzyzewski as College Basketball’s Winningest Coach
Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer Passes Mike Krzyzewski as College Basketball’s Winningest Coach /
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College basketball has a new winningest coach: Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer.

The longtime steward of the Cardinal women’s program earned career victory No. 1,203 on Sunday, eclipsing Duke legend Mike Krzyzewski for the most in college basketball history.

Stanford held a ceremony on the court at Maples Pavilion to acknowledge the accomplishment shortly after the No. 8 Cardinal beat visiting Oregon State, 65–56.

“I am very overwhelmed, and I’m not usually lost for words, but it’s pretty impressive, all these people here, all the former players coming back,” VanDerVeer said at the ceremony. “… When I was a little girl, I loved basketball from the third grade on. I had no idea why. But my parents did not share that. They told me, ‘Tara, forget basketball; basketball will never take you anywhere.’ … and [later in life] I would send them postcards from all over the world.

“I love the game of basketball,” she continued. “… I loved the strategy of it … and to be able to take a young person to a place they couldn’t get to by themself. And I’m so proud of our team and how hard we’ve worked and how much better we can be.”

Krzyzewski had held the all-divisions record in men’s or women’s basketball since 2019, when he passed longtime McKendree University men’s coach Harry Statham with his 1,138th career win.

“This is a tremendous accomplishment for Tara VanDerveer, who is already one of the most accomplished coaches in the history of basketball. This is yet another milestone to add to an amazing legacy,” Krzyzewski said in a statement. “More important than all the astounding numbers and career accomplishments, she’s positively impacted countless lives as a coach and a mentor. Tara remains a true guardian of our sport.”

VanDerveer, 70, only has lost 267 career games, accounting for a winning percentage of .818. Her record in 38 seasons at Stanford is 1,051–216. Prior to her Cardinal tenure, she coached five seasons at Ohio State and two seasons at Idaho. She has guided the Cardinal to three national championships and won an Olympic gold medal as coach of the 1996 U.S. women’s team. She was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.

VanDerveer has a close pursuer on the all-time wins list.

UConn women’s coach Geno Auriemma, 69, boasts 1,196 career victories, just seven behind VanDerveer.

VanDerveer can add to her win total when the Cardinal (17–2, 6–1 Pac-12) play at Arizona State (9–10, 1–6) Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

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Thomas Neumann
THOMAS NEUMANN