Tara VanDerveer, NCAA’s winningest basketball coach, retires after 45 years

Tara VanDerveer, the winningest basketball coach in NCAA history, announced her retirement Tuesday night after 38 seasons leading the Stanford women’s team and 45 overall.

The 70-year-old VanDerveer surpassed Mike Krzyzewski for the wins record earlier this year. The Hall of Famer leaves with 1,216 wins at Idaho, Ohio State and Stanford.

And as has been the plan for years, Cardinal assistant Kate Paye will take over the program, and the school says negotiations with Paye are ongoing. Paye played for VanDerveer from 1991 to 1995 and coached her staff for 17 years.

VanDerveer’s last day is scheduled for May 8, the 39th anniversary of her hiring.

Her Stanford teams won NCAA titles in 1990, 1992 and 2021 and reached the Final Four 14 times.