Tara! Tara!! Tara!!!

Tara.... Tara.... Tara....

Far far away inset on a Golden Coast in the land of California lies a quaint town of Palo Alto with a mighty University where Nobel Laureates and genius roam. Nestled in the brain trust of Silicon Valley lies Stanford. Thousands of miles removed from Sports Mecca East of the Mississippi, Stanford has been quietly building a legacy on academics as well as athletics.

Unlike power houses of Baylor, Notre Dame, Tennessee and UConn, an athlete invited to play at Stanford MUST meet the academic standards for admission to the University. Not only do you need to perform genius on the turf, academic excellence is expected in the classroom.

Since 1985, Tara Vanderveer has created a dynasty of excellence on the hardwood floors at Maples Pavilion. She is on the heels of reaching Pat Summit numbers at this point of her career. Coach V is 4th on the list of winningest coaches in NCAA Division I at 891 wins , only behind Pat Summit, Mike Krzyzewski, and Bob Knight.

It's quite the accomplishment to reach the success and consistency displayed year after year at Stanford Women's Basketball. She is going for her 4th title and being the only NCAA Div I coach to reach Final Four an impressive 9th time in 11 years. That's right! Not, Summit, Not Geno, it's Tara!

Pac-12 may not receive National accolades as such programs closer to the East Coast, Stanford has a swarming forest including top player in NCAA Women's Division I, Chiney Ogwumike.

Hats off to Coach Tara Vanderveer and Stanford University bringing notoriety out WEST!

Enjoy highlights of Stanford's bid to 2014 NCAA Basketball Division I Women's Championship