Diane Dietz

Beginning her illustrious basketball career at Farmington Hills Mercy High School, Diane Dietz led teams to success, appearing in four consecutive state finals. Among these, the 1977 season entailed an undefeated season, leading to a Class A Michigan State Championship. Although basketball is the most well-known sport of Dietz’s high school career, she also earned All-State honors in tennis and softball.

After succeeding on the courts, field and in the classroom throughout high school, Dietz enrolled at the University of Michigan. Between 1979 to 1982, Dietz became the University’s all-time leading scorer, with a staggering 2,076 points. This was the first time any women’s basketball player had passed the 2,000-point mark, until Katelynn Flaherty broke the record in 2018 with 2,776 - long after the introduction of the three-point line. During the 1982 season, Dietz set the Big Ten Conference single-game scoring record with a remarkable 45 points against the University of Illinois. This record stood for the next 22 years until 2004, when a guard from Penn State scored 49 points. After a record-breaking colligate career, Dietz became one of the first women to receive the Big Ten Medal of Honor, awarded to student athletes for outstanding academic and athletic achievement.

Following her playing career, Dietz received a juris doctorate degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School and stated as a lawyer. Later, she rose the ranks of the Comcast Corporation and worked as the Senior director of Public Affairs and Vice President of the Comcast Foundation. In 2008, Dietz was named Chief Marketing Officer for Cranbrook Educational Community, and oversaw marketing and communications efforts, community outreach and government relations. In 2010, Dietz was hired as the Big Ten Conference Chief Communications Officer.