Rhiannon Potkey| Special to the News Sentinel
The Lady Vols were going through warm-ups at Maples Pavilion before playing Stanford when Pat Summitt pulled her assistants aside.
Summitt informed Mickie DeMoss and Holly Warlick she wouldn’t be riding the bus back to the hotel with the team after the game. The legendary Tennessee women's basketball coach was staying behind to speak to the Stanford booster club.
“Holly and I both went, ‘What?’ ” DeMoss recalled Tuesday. “But Pat said win or lose she was staying, and sure enough we got beat. We asked Pat if she was really going to still stay and talk to their boosters, and she said, ‘I sure am. I told Tara I would do it.’ ”
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer and Summitt shared a mutual respect, a love for learning and a devotion to basketball. For the last few days, they also shared a place in history.
But on Tuesday night, VanDerveer broke Summitt’s all-time wins record in Division I women’s basketball by recording her 1,099th victory as No. 1 Stanford defeated Pacific 104-61 in Stockton, California.
Summitt finished her career with 1,098 wins in 38 seasons at Tennessee. She retired in 2012 at age 59 following a diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s disease, and died four years later.
VanDerveer, 67, has accumulated her wins in 42 years of head coaching, with 946 coming at Stanford since taking over the program in 1985-86. VanDerveer won 42 games at Idaho and 110 at Ohio State before arriving in the Bay Area.
“I can’t think of anybody Pat would rather see break the record than Tara,” said DeMoss, who is the chief of staff for Georgia Tech women’s basketball. “Pat knew records were meant to be broken, and she had so much respect for Tara and how she runs her program. She does it the right way.”
VanDerveer and Summitt built powerhouse programs on opposite sides of the country. They were fierce advocates for women’s basketball with similar visions of how to elevate the sport on a national stage.
They placed a high priority on players graduating and developing them into not only great athletes, but also strong women with bold dreams.
“I think the unique thing about their relationship is it never wavered,” DeMoss said. “If you are in it as long as they were, there are going to be some things at some point that usually are going to piss off a coach, whether it’s in recruiting or something you do in a game. It’s almost inevitable. But I can truly say I never remember a time when that mutual respect they had for each other ever wavered. Their relationship stood the test of time.”
Their teams began playing in 1988 when VanDerveer promised Jennifer Azzi that Stanford would schedule a game close to Azzi’s home in Oak Ridge. From then on, whenever they could make room in their schedules, they planned home-and-home series.
Stanford actually won its first NCAA title at Thompson-Boling Arena in 1990, but the Cardinal didn't have to face Tennessee.
The Lady Vols beat Stanford in the national semifinals in 1991 on the way to a title, and again in 2008 when Summitt claimed her eighth and final crown with a victory over Stanford in the championship game.
VanDerveer and Summitt wouldn’t hesitate to call each other to exchange ideas or discuss ways to help their programs improve. Their coaching staffs often had dinner together before regular-season games or at tournaments.
“What I learned from Pat was just to be passionate about the game, and I study other people,” VanDerveer said. "If anything maybe from her, it was the importance of rebounding and playing really hard. Her teams did that. And they didn’t ever give up. They really were determined teams.”
The chase for the all-time wins record will remain on the radar this season. UConn coach Geno Auriemma registered his 1,093rd career victory on Tuesday in his 36th season leading the Huskies.
No matter how long she stays at the top, VanDerveer will always have the designation as being the first to pass Summitt.
No matter how long she stays at the top, VanDerveer will always have the designation as being the first to pass Summitt.
They were competitors until the end, with a mutual admiration that endured.
“I really hope Pat Summitt is looking down and saying ‘Good job Tara, keep it going,’” VanDerveer said on the ESPN broadcast after her milestone win. “I loved coaching against Pat and we miss her. This is a wonderful game and I’m really, really fortunate to be part of it.”
NCAA Division I Women's Career Wins Leaders
Tara VanDerveer 1,099-253 (.812) in 42 seasons
Pat Summitt 1,098-208 (.840) in 38 seasons
Geno Auriemma 1,093-142 (.885) in 36 seasons
