Wow! Long-Time Capital Region, NY Resident Sets NCAA Coaching Wins Record

When it comes to wins by a college basketball coach, Tara VanDerveer stands alone.

A coach at the collegiate level since 1978, VanDerveer has a career winning percentage of .818. She's won three national championships at the Division I level, made it to 13 Final Fours, and been named National Coach of the Year five times.

To put it simply, VanDerveer has done a lot of winning during her coaching career, and as of Sunday, she has officially won more games than any of her peers.

Ever.

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Tara VanDerveer Sets New Record for Wins By a College Basketball Coach

On Sunday, Stanford women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer led the Cardinal to a victory, 65-56 over Oregon State. That's not an uncommon occurrence: this win was Stanford's 17th of the season, an impressive mark, especially when you consider that they have only lost two games all year.

It was also the team's sixth victory in Pac-12 Conference play, another impressive total. Those two numbers, however, pale in comparison to this one: 1,203.

That figure represents the total number of victories VanDerveer has recorded as a head coach. Sunday's win by Tara VanDerveer set a new record for wins by a college basketball head coach, men's or women's, passing Mike Krzyzewski's previous record of 1,202.

VanDerveer recevied a pretty incredible gift as part of the victory:

Here's what she had to say during the postgame press conference:

As the game progressed, a number of VanDerveer's former players, including Jennifer Azzi, Chiney Ogwumike, Ros Gold-Onwude and Jayne Appel-Marinelli, watched with pride as their coach inched closer to history.

Following the victory, a video tribute was presented on the big screen, showing heartfelt messages from Steve Kerr, Dawn Staley, Coach K and even Billie Jean King:

VanDerveer shares a connection with New York's Capital Region, as though she was born in Massachusetts, she was raised in Schenectady. Specifically, she grew up in the West Hill area, according to reports.

VanDerveer lived in Schenectady until her sophomore year of high school, when her family moved to Niagara Falls. She would return to the region in 1971 to play college basketball, spending her freshman campaign with the UAlbany women's basketball team.

She graduated from Indiana in 1975, and three years later, at the ripe age of 24, began her coaching career. Six decades later, she's officially the best there's ever been in college basketball.

Congratulations, Coach!

Information from The Associated Press was used in this article.