Are Heidi and Tara VanDerveer related? What we know about the Stanford HC

Tara and Heidi VanDerveer have been a part of the women's college basketball scene for decades. Tara VanDerveer started her coaching journey with Idaho back in 1978 and has been the head coach of the Stanford women's basketball team since 1985. On the other hand, Heidi VanDerveer started her coaching journey in 1986 and has been with UC San Diego since 2012.

As Tara and Heidi share the same last name, fans wonder if the two are related. So is Tara VanDerveer related to Heidi VanDerveer?

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Are Heidi and Tara VanDerveer related?

Yes, both Heidi and Tara VanDerveer are related by blood. Heidi is the younger sister of Tara. Tara was born on June 26, 1953, in Melrose, Massachusetts, while Heidi was born on February 11, 1964, in New York.

Both sisters loved basketball and played during their college careers. Tara VanDerveer began her college career and played for Albany in 1971 before joining Indiana in 1972. She played until 1975 and earned a master's in sports administration. Tara was then hired as the head coach of the Idaho Vandals women's basketball team.

On the other hand, Heidi VanDerveer played for the Charleston Cougars during her collegiate career from 1982 to 1986. She also went on to earn a master's degree in physical education and sports psychology from the University of Tennessee. She began her coaching career here as a graduate assistant in 1987. Heidi worked various gigs with different programs before joining the UC San Diego Tritons in 2012.

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Tara VanDerveer becomes the winningest coach in NCAA history

During her tenure with Stanford, Tara VanDerveer led the team to three national championships. The 70-year-old most recently surpassed former Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski to become the NCAA's winningest basketball coach in all divisions. This came after Standford's 65-56 victory over Oregon State.

The victory over Oregon State was Tara's 1,203rd career win. After the win, she told Good Morning America that she was surprised Oregon State also chipped in to celebrate her achievement despite their loss.

"I just also want to say that when I went through the line with the Oregon State players, each one of them congratulated me and I just thought that was first class," VanDerveer said. "It was just an outpouring of love from the fans and it's a little bit overwhelming. It was just really an awesome day."

Stanford's next clash is with Arizona State on January 26 at the Desert Financial Arena.