Stanford's VanDerveer To Meet With Athletic Director About Extension
STANFORD (CBS / AP) -- Stanford women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer plans to sit down with athletic director Bernard Muir at the end of the season to begin talks about a contract extension.
VanDerveer is signed for two more years through the 2014-15 season, but she said Monday she is ready to think about her job on The Farm beyond that time frame and to plan her future at the university where she has become one of the top coaches in the country.
"I love it here," VanDerveer said Monday before an NCAA tournament practice. "This spring we're going to have a conversation. I will meet with Bernard and figure out what the plan will be. It seems it's a good thing to have a contract with the things that are happening. Basically, it's just an athletic director and university decide if you're going to work for them. There's always pressure on coaches."
VanDerveer's top-seeded Cardinal (32-2) will play No. 8 seed Michigan on Tuesday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament at home in Maples Pavilion as they look to reach a sixth straight Final Four.
The 59-year-old Hall of Fame coach is in her 27th season at Stanford and has a 741-151 record at the school. She's in her 34th overall season as a Division I head coach, going 893-202 for her career.
"Sixty's the new 40. I've been here like 100 years now, 28 years. That's a long time," VanDerveer said, including the 1995-96 season when she was away to coach the U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in the Atlanta Games.
Muir, who left Delaware last July to replace Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby as Stanford athletic director, is a regular at Maples to watch VanDerveer's team. Still, VanDerveer knows the importance of a sit-down to get a better idea of Muir's impressions of her and the program moving forward.
"You have a new athletic director. He's been great," she said. "I love working with Bernard. This year's team has done extremely well to be 32-2 and have the injuries that we've had. ... I have great communication with Bernard. I think we'll have a really good conversation and figure out what's best for me, for the team and for Stanford."
Muir indicated Monday that he looks forward to the program continuing to perform at such a high level with VanDerveer leading the way.
"I'm excited about the opportunity that our team has to play Michigan at home for the second round of the NCAA championship," Muir said. "Of course, Tara has done another fabulous job and we are excited about the road ahead under her leadership."
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