The highly successful Stanford women’s basketball program secured one of its key pieces for the foreseeable future on Wednesday as it was announced that head coach Tara VanDerveer had signed a new “long-term” contract to remain with the Cardinal.
Stanford Director of Athletics Bernard Muir made the announcement on Wednesday without revealing the nature of the new contract. Stanford Athletics has also not yet disclosed how many years were added to VanDerveer’s contract, only referring to it as a “long-term agreement” with the head coach, who still had two years remaining on her earlier contract.
In her 27 seasons at Stanford, VanDerveer — considered one of the best coaches in the history of collegiate women’s basketball — has compiled a 742-152 (.830) record. The hall-of-famer has led the Cardinal to two national championships, ten final four berths (including five in a row from 2008-2012), 21 Pac-12 titles, and 24 NCAA Tournament berths.
The announcement came on the heels of another fantastic season for the program, which enjoyed its sixth straight 30-plus-win season, its seventh straight Pac-12 title (both in regular-season and tournament play) and its 20th trip to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament.
The team will continue to play under its steadfast leader in August as it embarks on a tour of Italy before coming home to begin its regular season in November.