Tara VanDerveer on retirement: 'Just felt I am ready'

Legendary women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer said Wednesday that her recent retirement announcement wasn't the first time she thought about making that decision.

"Just felt I am ready," VanDerveer said one day after her announcement, citing some changes to the college basketball landscape.

Over her 45-year coaching career, all but the first seven at Stanford, VanDerveer's teams finished with a 1,216-271 record, including 14 trips to the Final Four and three national championships (1990, 1992, 2021). She began her coaching career at Idaho (1978-80) and also coached at Ohio State (1980-85).

The Cardinal's season ended with a 77-67 loss to North Carolina State in the Sweet 16 on March 29.

At a news conference in the Arrillaga Family Sports Center on the Stanford campus, VanDerveer said she previously thought about stepping down a decade ago. That time, however, mega-donor John Arrillaga, for whom the auditorium was named, talked her out of it.

Arrillaga, a billionaire real estate developer and philanthropist, died in 2022.

"I just want to do other things," said VanDerveer, who mentioned improving her bridge game. "I have a lot of interests, and you just don't know how much time you have."

VanDerveer said Stanford's decision to join the Atlantic Coast Conference next season was not a factor in her decision.

"(The conference change) was a motivator to want to stay, to play that competition, because I think it's going to be a great, great league," VanDerveer said.

VanDerveer said Name, Image and Likeness endorsements for players and the "24/7 job" of recruiting were more significant factors.

VanDerveer leaves as the NCAA's winningest basketball coach, although UConn coach Geno Auriemma is only three wins behind her. She said she will "be excited for him" when he surpasses her mark.

"I never went into it thinking about a record. He does a great job, and records are meant to be broken," VanDerveer said.

—Field Level Media