CHARLESTON, S.C. — University of California San Diego women's basketball head coach Heidi VanDerveer has been named winner of the Alumna of the Year Award by her alma mater College of Charleston, the school recently announced.
VanDerveer will be honored by the College of Charleston Alumni Association during a ceremony on Nov. 17, 2018.
“I'm extremely honored and very humbled,” said VanDerveer. “My experience at the College of Charleston set my foundation as an adult. I was around highly motivated and goal-oriented people, coached by incredible role models and played with fantastic teammates. The people I was around on a day-to-day basis made my experience special. As you get older, you realize it's the people who make the experience, not just the experience itself.”
“In my mind, I strive to make sure the team I coach has a similar experience to what I had — which was very positive, productive and transformational."
A native of Chautauqua, N.Y., VanDerveer was a four-year letter winner in basketball at College of Charleston, and served as team captain both her junior and senior seasons. She graduated in 1986 with a degree in political science.
A former WNBA coach and scout for the USA Olympic team, VanDerveer has more than three decades of experience in women's athletics. Beginning as a graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee under the legendary Pat Summitt, she helped guide the Volunteers to the 1987 NCAA National Championship and to the final four in 1988.
As an assistant at the University of South Carolina from 1988-1994, VanDerveer helped lead the Gamecocks make three NCAA Tournament appearances. She also spent time as head coach of Eastern Washington University, University of San Francisco and Occidental College, amassing NCAA tournament appearances and breaking records at each school.
In the WNBA, VanDerveer was an assistant and head coach for both the Sacramento Monarchs and the Minnesota Lynx, as well as an assistant coach for the Seattle Storm.
VanDerveer was named head coach of UC San Diego in 2012 and is entering her seventh season in 2018-19. She received California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Coach of the Year honors for the third consecutive season in 2017-18, while also earning Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II District 8 Coach of the Year accolades. She has a career record of 133-49 with the Tritons.
VanDerveer said her time at College of Charleston taught her how to interact with those around her.
“I learned how you treat people and the way you're treated really matters,” she said. “That's more important than anything. Treat people with respect and have high expectations.
“The campus community I was engaged in really challenged me to be my best. It also supported me, so I wasn't out there by myself. That's how I want my team to be.”
About UC San Diego Athletics
With 30 national team championships, nearly 150 individual titles and the top student-athlete graduation rate among Division II institutions in the United States, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program annually ranks as one of the most successful in the country. The Tritons sponsor 23 intercollegiate sport programs that compete on the NCAA Division I and II levels and, in summer 2020, will transition into full Division I status as a member of the Big West Conference. UC San Diego student-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent. A total of 80 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 36 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. In competition, more than 1,300 UC San Diego student-athletes have earned All-America honors.
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