University of Idaho Athletics

Although she was a Vandal for only two seasons, Vanderveer's impact on Idaho women's basketball and the entire world of hoops is immeasurable. She was hired by Kathy Clark as the first full-time coach in Idaho women's basketball history. The first four seasons in Vandal women's hoops saw just one winning season with a combined record of 26-48. She immediately turned the program around.

Her first win came in the Cowan Spectrum in a 70-68 overtime win against Northern Montana College (now Montana State University – Northern) and she led Idaho to a 17-8 record in year one and a 25-6 record in year two, including a 10-2 record in the NW Empire League. The Vandals earned a trip to the AIAW Division II Nationals (the precursor to the NCAA).

After just two seasons, she was hired as the head coach at Ohio State in 1980 where she coached for five seasons before taking over the head coaching position at Stanford in 1985. The rest is history. 1,203 career NCAA wins, three national championships, 13 final four appearances, five National Coach of the Year honors and an Olympic gold medal (1996).

While VanDerveer moved on to greatness in her career, the foundation she laid was key to Idaho women's basketball. The Vandals went on to play in three straight AIAW DII Nationals, advanced to the 1985 NCAA Tournament and win the 1986 WNIT Championship under Pat Dobratz.