Vanderbilt Commodores women's basketball
| Vanderbilt Commodores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| University | Vanderbilt University | |||
| Conference | SEC | |||
| Location | Nashville, TN | |||
| Head coach | Stephanie White | |||
| Arena |
Memorial Gymnasium (Capacity: 14,316) |
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| Nickname | Commodores | |||
| Colors | Black and Old Gold |
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| Uniforms | ||||
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| NCAA Tournament Final Four | ||||
| 1993 | ||||
| NCAA Tournament Elite Eight | ||||
| 1992, 1993, 1996, 2001, 2002 | ||||
| NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009 | ||||
| NCAA Tournament second round | ||||
| 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 | ||||
| NCAA Tournament appearances | ||||
| 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 | ||||
| AIAW Tournament appearances | ||||
| 1982 | ||||
| Conference tournament champions | ||||
| 1993, 1995, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2009 | ||||
The Vanderbilt Commodores women's basketball team represents Vanderbilt University in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Commodores have never won the SEC championship, although they have won six SEC tournament titles (1993, 1995, 2002, 2004, 2007 and 2009); the SEC has awarded its official championship based solely on regular-season record since the 1985–86 season. The current head coach is Stephanie White, who was head coach of the Indiana Fever when she was hired in 2016, and finished the 2016 WNBA season with the Fever. White replaced Melanie Balcomb, who resigned after the 2015–16 season.
The Commodores play their home games in Memorial Gymnasium. Memorial Gymnasium was built in the early 1950s. It was dedicated as the campus memorial to students and alumni killed in World War II; a plaque commemorating those who died is displayed in the Gym's North lobby.
At the time of the Gym's construction, there was a serious discussion within the Vanderbilt community about whether the school should de-emphasize intercollegiate athletics and refocus on its academic program. As a compromise between those who advocated increased athletics competition and those who argued in favor of de-emphasis, the Gymnasium was built to hold only about 9,000 seats, and it would be readily adaptable to other uses—significantly, as a possible concert hall.
Consequently, the gymnasium floor was built up above its surroundings, more in the nature of a stage. The areas out of bounds along the sidelines were very wide, in contrast with the small facility which it replaced, where the walls were right along the sidelines and players could scrape their shoulders bringing the ball up the court. This necessitated the placement of the benches at the end of the court, which was not highly unusual at the time.
In addition, each goal was anchored by two far-reaching beams attached to support columns, with extra support coming from cables stretching all the way to the gym's ceiling. In the case of a backboard shatter or beam fracture, replacing these goals would be highly difficult, compared to the usual goal setup at most venues.
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