Tara VanDerveer vs Kim Mulkey: H2H, stats comparison, records, notable achievements and more

Tara VanDerveer and Kim Mulkey are legends of NCAA women's basketball with seven combined championships as coaches.

VanDerveer won titles with Stanford in 1990, 1992 and 2021, while Mulkey secured three crowns with Baylor (2005, 2012 and 2019) and another with LSU (in 2023).

VanDerveer announced her retirement before the end of the season and won 1,216 games, a record in college basketball encompassing both genders, while Mulkey holds an impressive 86.0% win percentage.

Both coaches are well respected in the sport but are fierce competitors in their own right. Let's delve into the careers of the legendary women's basketball mentors.

Tara VanDerveer vs Kim Mulkey: Measuring up

NCAA records

Tara VanDerveer coached Idaho, Ohio State and Stanford.

Tara VanDerveer began coaching in 1978 with Idaho in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. She coached the Vandals for two seasons and had a 42-14 record.

The Indiana alumnus was chosen as coach of Ohio State in 1980 and guided the Buckeyes to a 110-37 record and three NCAA Tournament appearances.

After five seasons, VanDerveer transferred to Stanford, where she had big-time success. She won her first title in 1990, helping the Cardinal win 32 of 33 games that season. She would give Stanford another title in 1992.

VanDerveer was synonymous with consistency in the women's division, as she guided Stanford to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 1988 to 2024 (except in 2020 due to COVID and 1995-1996 as Marianne Stanley and Ann Tucker served as Stanford head coach).

It would take her 29 years to secure her third championship, when Stanford won in 2021, going 31-2 in the season. In over 40 seasons, VanDerveer has amassed 1,216 wins in 1,487 games, achieving an overall win percentage of 81.8%.

Kim Mulkey, meanwhile, started her coaching career in 2000 with Baylor and reached the NCAA Tournament first round in her first season as chief tactician.

She would secure her first title in 2005, leading the Lady Bears to a 33-3 record. The Louisiana Tech alumnus guided Baylor to another title in 2012, winning all 40 games that season. Seven years later, she again guided the Lady Bears to another title, winning 37 of their 38 games.

In 2022, she transferred to LSU, and in her second year, she helped the Lady Tigers win the 2023 national championship, her fourth overall. They went 34-2 overall, including their 102-85 win over Caitlin Clark-led Iowa in the final.

In 24 seasons, Mulkey has an overall win-loss mark of 723-118 for an 86% winning record. She has won 332 times in the NCAA Tournament.

Advantage: VanDerveer by way of total wins although Mulkey has the better winning percentage.

Also Read: Kim Mulkey controversies every college basketball fan remembers in 2023

Head-to-Head

Kim Mulkey, who was coaching Baylor, won their Final Four battle, 59-47, in 2012.

Tara VanDerveer and Kim Mulkey met six times when the latter was coaching Baylor.

VanDerveer took first blood with Stanford winning 87-63 on Dec. 16, 2007. Mulkey would move ahead, 2-1, with consecutive wins over Stanford, 81-65, on Nov. 16, 2008, and 59-47 in the Final Four on Apr. 1, 2012.

VanDerveer would even up the score on Nov. 16, 2012 with a 71-69 win. Six years later, Mulkey guided the Lady Bears to an 81-57 home win over the Cardinal but VanDerveer responded with a 68-63 victory over Mulkey's Baylor.

Advantage: Mulkey due to the Final Four win in April 2012.

Notable achievements

Tara VanDerveer and Kim Mulkey have made their mark in women's basketball, as they garnered a combined 13 National Coach of the Year titles.

VanDerveer guided Stanford to 27 Pac-12 Conference regular season titles and 15 Pac-12 Conference Tournament crowns. She was also a John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Awardee and a two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year with Ohio State.

In 1996, VanDerveer coached the US women's basketball team to the gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics and was inducted into the 2011 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Mulkey, meanwhile, guided her teams to 12 Big 12 regular season titles and 11 Big 12 Tournament crowns. She won the Olympic gold as a player in the 1984 Los Angeles Games and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020.

Advantage: VanDerveer

Tara VanDerveer has a distinct advantage in coaching experience although Kim Mulkey has a slight edge in winning percentage and titles won as a coach.

Both coaches have contributed a lot to the development of women's basketball as evidenced by the number of WNBA stars who played under them in college. VanDerveer and Mulkey are legends of the sport and have broken gender boundaries and barriers in coaching.

Who do you think is the better coach among the two? Tara VanDerveer or Kim Mulkey? Let's know in the comments section below.