Four decades of excellence will officially be honored at Maples Pavilion this afternoon.

Tara VanDerveer, a name without peer in college athletics, will have her name affixed to the Maples court prior to the Stanford women’s basketball game against Gonzaga at noon today. VanDerveer, who coached Stanford from 1985-2024 with a one-year break to coach the United States Olympic women’s basketball team in 1996, retired as the all-time coaching wins leader (1,216) in NCAA Division I basketball.

“That’s going to be awesome,” new Stanford head coach Kate Paye said of the court unveiling. “And I think the best way that we can honor her is to play extremely hard, extremely well (today).”

Paye played for VanDerveer on Stanford’s 1992 national championship team and coached under her for 17 years on the Cardinal bench. She greeted VanDerveer before her first game in charge on Monday against Le Moyne and welcomed VanDerveer into the postgame locker room after earning her first win.

VanDerveer, who won three national championships at Stanford, is still a constant presence for the Cardinal, even if she isn’t around every day anymore. Starting today, her daily presence will be felt in a tangible way even if she isn’t physically in the building.

“There’s nobody cheering harder for our team than Tara,” Paye said after the win over Le Moyne. “It was great to have her in the locker room after, and it’s really, really special.”

VanDerveer transformed Stanford into the preeminent West Coast women’s basketball powerhouse during her tenure. The Cardinal made 14 Final Fours with her in charge, plus a 15th when assistants Amy Tucker and Marianne Stanley Staley co-led Stanford during VanDerveer’s hiatus in 1995-96.

Starting in 1987-88, VanDerveer’s third season, Stanford made the NCAA Tournament every season in which it was held. She passed former Duke men’s coach Mike Krzyzewski for the most wins in college basketball history.