Stanford's Tara Vanderveer Grabs Naismith Women's College Coach of the Year Honors
Defeated 11-time winners Summitt and Auriemma for Her 2nd Naismith Coaching Honor
ATLANTA (April 6, 2011) – Stanford University women’s basketball head coach Tara VanDerveer, whose team handed the University of Connecticut their only loss in three seasons, was named the 2011 Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today. She defeated 6-time winner Geno Auriemma (UConn), 5-time winner Pat Summitt (Tennessee) and Kim Mulkey (Baylor) to win her second Naismith Coach of the Year award. She won her first Naismith Award, the most prestigious national award presented annually to the women’s college basketball coach of the year, in 1990.
The winner was determined by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s National Voting Academy, comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country. The academy based its criteria on coaching performances this season. The vote was tabulated and certified by the accounting firm of Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, LLP. HA&W is the largest independent accounting firm in Georgia and one of the top 50 firms in the United States.
“For Tara VanDerveer to win her second Naismith College Coach of the Year award 21 years after her first is a testament to the excellence she continues to uphold and demand from her players,” said Eric Oberman, Executive Director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. “We congratulate Tara and her team on a successful season and wish them the best of luck next year.”
This season VanDerveer guided the 33-3 Cardinal to the program's 20th Pac-10 regular season title, and 11th in a row, while Stanford finished a perfect 18-0 in Pac-10 play for the second straight year and sixth time overall.
For her efforts, VanDerveer was named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year, marking the seventh time since the 2001-02 season and 11th time overall that she has taken home the conference's top coaching honor. VanDerveer joined the elite 800-win club back on Dec. 22 with a victory at San Francisco.
As the top seed in the Spokane Region of the 2011 NCAA Women’s Division I Championship, the Cardinal defeated UC Davis, St. John’s, North Carolina and Gonzaga before ultimately falling to Texas A&M 62-63 in the school’s 11th Final Four appearance.
"I am honored to receive this award from the Atlanta Tip-Off Club,” VanDerveer said. “I am very fortunate to get to work with such a talented and dedicated group of coaches and players day in and day out, which is the foundation of our program's success."
Last year, Connie Yori of the University of Nebraska claimed the Naismith Women’s Coach of the Year award, the first ever for a Big 12 Conference school.
For more information, visit www.naismithawards.com.
ABOUT THE ATLANTA TIPOFF CLUB
The Atlanta Tipoff Club, an Atlanta Sports Council property, is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club, founded during the 1956-57 season, has presented the Naismith Trophy every year since UCLA’s Lew Alcindor first won the award in 1969. Old Dominion’s Anne Donovan won the inaugural Women’s Naismith Trophy in 1983.
The Naismith Award has become the most prestigious award in all of college basketball, recognizing the Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Player of the Year, Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Coach of the Year, as well as awards for outstanding achievement in high school basketball, officiating, and contribution to the game.
