When thinking about the most dominant programs in college basketball on the women’s side, you look at South Carolina, UConn, and Tennessee. Another historically dominant program has been Stanford Women. The Cardinal have been in every NCAA Tournament since 1988, including winning national championships in 1990, 1992, and 2021.
The Coach Tara VanDerveer era ended in 2024 after last year, when Stanford went 30-6. There were plenty of changes to the program besides her leaving. Stars Kiki Iriafen and Cameron Brink left, All-Americans the team wasn’t able to replace. Plus, the move to the ACC has been something they needed to adjust to.
The end of an era: Stanford falls in the 1st round of the ACC tournament and is poised to miss out on the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1987, snapping a streak of 36 consecutive appearances. It was the 2nd-longest streak in NCAA Tournament history behind Tennessee's 42
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) March 6, 2025
All of those changes have put the Cardinal into a position they haven’t been in for decades. The team went 16-14 overall this past season, including 8-10 in ACC play. They played in the first round of the conference tournament, where they lost 63-46 to the Clemson Tigers.
The Cardinal haven’t been truly on the bubble at any point this year and its mediocre numbers will doom them from at-large consideration. Once it’s official next Monday evening, the 36-year streak of making the Big Dance will snap, the second-longest active one on either side behind Tennessee’s 42-year run. It’s longer than Michigan State (26) and Gonzaga (30), though Kansas technically has a longer one at 37, though the NCAA took the 2018 team’s wins away due to recruiting violations.
With Stanford’s streak set to snap, the UConn Huskies will be at No. 2 with 35 and will easily be extending it after this season. But Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma is over 70 years old and won’t be around forever. When he eventually retires, can the Huskies continue its dominance, or will they take a similar step back as Stanford has this season?
It’s another example of how much a coach truly matters to a program and how difficult it is to replace them.