Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said she found out about Pat Summitt’s diagnosis of early onset dementia before the story was released to the press, getting a call at her Minnesota vacation home from Tennessee Director of Operations Kathy Hairston.

“Pat didn’t want people to find out on the news,” VanDerveer said Tuesday afternoon.

VanDerveer said the news was “shocking” and “numbing.”

Don Anderson file photo

And the Cardinal coach then did what she always does – her research.

“I read up as much as I could,” VanDerveer said. “There are treatments and information about what they can do. But it’s very serious. It’s just nothing something I would ever have expected.”

VanDerveer also issued a statement through Stanford athletics regarding her longtime coaching colleague and rival. Stanford and Tennessee have been playing an annual non-conference series that dates back to 1988.

Tennessee will be coming to Stanford to play on Dec. 20 and with Summitt committed to remaining with the team, the legendary coach will be in Maples Pavilion.

VanDerveer’s statement:

“Hearing today’s news about Pat Summit’s diagnosis was numbing to me,” VanDerveer said. “Pat is not only a great coach but she has been an outstanding mentor and friend. She has shown great courage in announcing this news. I know that she has the best support group around her that anyone could ask for, and I know that Pat will fight this development with the strength, spirit and determination that she has shown throughout her Hall of Fame career. My thoughts and prayers are with her and her family.”

The release courtesy of Stanford Athletics.

Stanford Women’s Basketball Announces 2011-12 Schedule

Cardinal non-conference slate includes trips to Connecticut, Xavier; hosting Tennessee, Gonzaga

STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford’s Setsuko Ishiyama Director of Women’s Basketball, Tara VanDerveer, announced the Cardinal’s 2011-12 schedule Monday morning.

• Stanford Women’s Basketball 2011-12 Schedule - http://www.gostanford.com/sports/w-baskbl/sched/stan-w-baskbl-sched.html

The Cardinal’s ledger, which features contests against 11 teams that reached the NCAA Tournament last season, includes matchups with 2011 NCAA regional finalists Gonzaga (Nov. 13) and Tennessee (Dec. 20) that highlight a 15-game home regular-season slate.

“A big reason for this program’s regular season and postseason success is that we face a tough and challenging schedule every season, and 2011-12 is no exception,” VanDerveer said. “Playing NCAA Tournament-caliber teams early on and throughout the year prepares us for new challenges in the Pac-12 and in the high-pressure contests in the postseason.”

Along with the Lady Volunteers and the Zags, four more 2011 NCAA Tournament participants will visit Maples Pavilion in 2011-12. After the Nov. 13 home opener against Gonzaga at Maples Pavilion, where Stanford has won a program-record 63 straight games, the Cardinal will host last year’s first-round opponent, UC Davis, on Nov. 30, Princeton on Dec. 17, UCLA on Feb. 9 and Pac-12 newcomer Utah on Feb. 25.

The Cardinal will also host Old Dominion (Nov. 17), CS Bakersfield (Dec. 22) and Seattle University (Feb. 29) in non-conference play.

Road trips during the non-conference season include trips to Texas for the season opener on Nov. 11, a Thanksgiving Week trip back east for games at Connecticut (Nov. 21) and Xavier (Nov. 25), and a bus ride into The Valley to visit Fresno State on Dec. 4.

Stanford will open things up with a pair of exhibition contests at Maples Pavilion the first week of November. UC San Diego visits for a 7 p.m. contest on Wednesday, Nov. 2, and the exhibition slate concludes against Vanguard on the afternoon of Nov. 5.

After a three-game non-conference homestand from Dec. 17-22, the Cardinal will make the first of two trips this season to Los Angeles to open play in the expanded and renamed Pac-12.

The conference slate will still feature 18 games. However, teams will play eight opponents twice in the traditional home-and-home setup, but will only play four teams once. Two of those schools will be played at home, and two on the road. The four schools that a team plays just once a year will rotate every third year. In 2011-12, the two schools that Stanford will play just once are Arizona and Arizona State at home, and Washington and Washington State on the road. Next season (2012-13), Stanford will still play those schools just once during the regular season, but the locations will be switched.

Stanford opens Pac-12 play with the first of two trips to Los Angeles. The Cardinal will take on 2011 WNIT runner-up USC on Thursday, Dec. 29 before closing the weekend with a New Year’s Eve visit to UCLA.

Once the New Year rolls around, Stanford will play home weekends against Oregon and Oregon State (Jan. 5 and 7), Washington State and Washington (Jan. 19 and 21), California (Jan. 28), UCLA and USC (Feb. 9 and 11) and Pac-12 newcomers Colorado and Utah (Feb. 23 and 25).

Stanford’s conference road trips, after the late December run to Los Angeles, include: at Utah and Colorado (Jan. 12 and 14), at Arizona State and Arizona (Feb. 2 and 4), at Oregon State and Oregon (Feb. 16 and 18) and at California to close out the regular season on March 3.

The Cardinal will return to Los Angeles for the 2012 Pac-12 Tournament, set to be held March 7-10. The preliminary rounds will be held at USC’s Galen Center before moving to Staples Center for the semifinals and championship game on March 9 and 10.

The 2012 NCAA Tournament is set to begin with first-round games taking place on March 17 and 18 at pre-determined sites. The Final Four is scheduled for April 1 and 3, 2012 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo.

Times and dates on the Cardinal’s 2011-12 schedule are subject to change. The Pac-10 will be announcing the 2011-12 women’s basketball TV schedule in September. Please visit the women’s basketball home page on www.gostanford.com to check on continuing updates.

The release courtesy of Stanford Athletics.

Stanford Women’s Basketball Announces 2011-12 Schedule

Cardinal non-conference slate includes trips to Connecticut, Xavier; hosting Tennessee, Gonzaga

STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford’s Setsuko Ishiyama Director of Women’s Basketball, Tara VanDerveer, announced the Cardinal’s 2011-12 schedule Monday morning.

• Stanford Women’s Basketball 2011-12 Schedule - http://www.gostanford.com/sports/w-baskbl/sched/stan-w-baskbl-sched.html

The Cardinal’s ledger, which features contests against 11 teams that reached the NCAA Tournament last season, includes matchups with 2011 NCAA regional finalists Gonzaga (Nov. 13) and Tennessee (Dec. 20) that highlight a 15-game home regular-season slate.

“A big reason for this program’s regular season and postseason success is that we face a tough and challenging schedule every season, and 2011-12 is no exception,” VanDerveer said. “Playing NCAA Tournament-caliber teams early on and throughout the year prepares us for new challenges in the Pac-12 and in the high-pressure contests in the postseason.”

Along with the Lady Volunteers and the Zags, four more 2011 NCAA Tournament participants will visit Maples Pavilion in 2011-12. After the Nov. 13 home opener against Gonzaga at Maples Pavilion, where Stanford has won a program-record 63 straight games, the Cardinal will host last year’s first-round opponent, UC Davis, on Nov. 30, Princeton on Dec. 17, UCLA on Feb. 9 and Pac-12 newcomer Utah on Feb. 25.

The Cardinal will also host Old Dominion (Nov. 17), CS Bakersfield (Dec. 22) and Seattle University (Feb. 29) in non-conference play.

Road trips during the non-conference season include trips to Texas for the season opener on Nov. 11, a Thanksgiving Week trip back east for games at Connecticut (Nov. 21) and Xavier (Nov. 25), and a bus ride into The Valley to visit Fresno State on Dec. 4.

Stanford will open things up with a pair of exhibition contests at Maples Pavilion the first week of November. UC San Diego visits for a 7 p.m. contest on Wednesday, Nov. 2, and the exhibition slate concludes against Vanguard on the afternoon of Nov. 5.

After a three-game non-conference homestand from Dec. 17-22, the Cardinal will make the first of two trips this season to Los Angeles to open play in the expanded and renamed Pac-12.

The conference slate will still feature 18 games. However, teams will play eight opponents twice in the traditional home-and-home setup, but will only play four teams once. Two of those schools will be played at home, and two on the road. The four schools that a team plays just once a year will rotate every third year. In 2011-12, the two schools that Stanford will play just once are Arizona and Arizona State at home, and Washington and Washington State on the road. Next season (2012-13), Stanford will still play those schools just once during the regular season, but the locations will be switched.

Stanford opens Pac-12 play with the first of two trips to Los Angeles. The Cardinal will take on 2011 WNIT runner-up USC on Thursday, Dec. 29 before closing the weekend with a New Year’s Eve visit to UCLA.

Once the New Year rolls around, Stanford will play home weekends against Oregon and Oregon State (Jan. 5 and 7), Washington State and Washington (Jan. 19 and 21), California (Jan. 28), UCLA and USC (Feb. 9 and 11) and Pac-12 newcomers Colorado and Utah (Feb. 23 and 25).

Stanford’s conference road trips, after the late December run to Los Angeles, include: at Utah and Colorado (Jan. 12 and 14), at Arizona State and Arizona (Feb. 2 and 4), at Oregon State and Oregon (Feb. 16 and 18) and at California to close out the regular season on March 3.

The Cardinal will return to Los Angeles for the 2012 Pac-12 Tournament, set to be held March 7-10. The preliminary rounds will be held at USC’s Galen Center before moving to Staples Center for the semifinals and championship game on March 9 and 10.

The 2012 NCAA Tournament is set to begin with first-round games taking place on March 17 and 18 at pre-determined sites. The Final Four is scheduled for April 1 and 3, 2012 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo.

Times and dates on the Cardinal’s 2011-12 schedule are subject to change. The Pac-10 will be announcing the 2011-12 women’s basketball TV schedule in September. Please visit the women’s basketball home page on www.gostanford.com to check on continuing updates.

Jetted back from Springfield this morning after last night’s impressive ceremony in Springfield.

Might feel compelled to post a few parting thoughts once I’m back in California after I’ve had a few hours of sleep.

http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-opinion/6858024/inductee-vanderveer-feels-right-home

My story for Pac-12.org on Tara VanDerveer’s Hall of Fame induction

Tara VanDerveer - Fast Break Club photo

http://www.pac-12.org/BasketballW/Tabid/1450/Article/136169/Once-In-A-Lifetime.aspx

http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-opinion/6850675/tara-vanderveer-teresa-edwards-share-hall-fame-spotlight