Sunday afternoon marked a historic day for the No. 9 Michigan women’s basketball program. For the first time, a former player’s jersey was honored and raised to the rafters of Crisler Center.
Diane Dietz competed for the Wolverines from 1979-82, wearing No. 21. She originally chose that number back in sixth grade because her dad wore the same one. During her career, Dietz became Michigan basketball’s first 2,000 point scorer — woman or man — and held the scoring record in the women’s program until Katelynn Flaherty broke it in the 2016-17 season.
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“When I was first hired here 14 years ago, I did as much history as I (could) to learn who came before and who paved the way,” head coach Kim Barnes Arico said postgame Jan. 5 after a win against Minnesota. “And Diane Dietz was at the forefront of that … this is a long time coming. This is an honor that she has deserved, that we haven’t had any women be honored in this way … at the beginning, when we first told her, she’s like, ‘Well, I know you guys are keeping it quiet, but it’s okay if I tell my parents? They’re in their 90s and I want to make sure that they know this while they’re healthy and they can celebrate it.”
Barnes Arico’s words shed light both on how deserving Dietz is of the honor, yet also how overlooked her career has been. The men’s basketball program has honored five jerseys raised to the rafters of Crisler Center, and is set to raise Trey Burke’s No. 3 later this season, the first since 2006.
Dietz is the first woman ever.
She played just five years after Michigan’s inaugural season in 1974, the team formed in response to Title IX’s passing. Playing prior to the establishment of the three-point line, Dietz still ranks fourth in all-time scoring with 2,076 points. She’s one of two players to make at least 900 field goals, ranking second all-time in 30-point games (11) and field goals made (940). Her 45-point single-game scoring record stood from 1982 until 2021, when Naz Hillmon scored 50 against Ohio State.
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Dietz impacted the game on all sides of the ball, graduating as the program record holder in steals (229) and currently ranking fourth in program history. After high-school All-State recognition in three sports (basketball, tennis, and softball) at Farmington Hills Mercy High School, her athleticism is undeniable.
Despite achieving historic levels of success, Dietz’s playing career ended upon her graduation in 1982. The nation’s first professional women’s basketball league, the Women’s Basketball League (WBL) which featured Nancy Lieberman, disbanded in late 1981 after three seasons, so there was no WNBA-equivalent to pursue post-grad.
Following her playing career, Dietz became one of two Michigan athletes inducted into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame (2009), as a three-time Academic All-American during her playing career. Dietz was Michigan’s first female recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 1982, considered the most prestigious honor a Big Ten student-athlete can receive. Inducted into the Michigan Athletics Hall of Honor in 1996 as the first women’s basketball player and a member of the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, getting inducted in 2019, Dietz left her mark on the program and the sport.
But watching her No. 21 raised to the rafters on a Maize banner — hanging in bright contrast to the white men’s jerseys and blue team accomplishments — was something she couldn’t have imagined, despite playing at Crisler Center herself during her career.
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“This entire day is getting more surreal by the minute,” Dietz said during her halftime speech. “It has far exceeded anything I could have dreamt in my wildest dreams. What an honor to be here and what an honor to share it with each of you. Today’s recognition is for all of us.”
Currently as the Deputy Commissioner for the Big Ten Conference after earning her J.D., standing with a crowd of friends and family behind her, Dietz spoke to a crowd of 4,488. She represented the history of the program, the foundation the current team is built on.
“I think we take that to heart,” sophomore guard Olivia Olson said. “…The people who came before us, it means a lot to us. They paved the way for us who are on the team right now, and so we just want to honor their legacy and continue to play to the standard that they started the program with.”
The Wolverines honored Dietz with a postgame dinner and reception, getting to know her and her loved ones. Strengthening the connection between past and present is an important tenet of Barnes Arico’s program, from employing former players on her coaching staff to connecting with alumni. Barnes Arico called Dietz and friend, as Dietz even attended Barnes Arico’s children’s games and is active in the Michigan community.
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The postgame activities were centered around Dietz, not the team’s 26-point win against Wisconsin. It was a well-executed and intended celebration, inspiring growth and change.
“It’s just a feeling of celebration, but also a determination to keep pushing for women’s representation,” senior guard Brooke Quarles Daniels said. “Especially all throughout history, I think it’s definitely a little bit disappointing that it’s taken this long. We still have the Naz (Hillmons), the Katelynn Flaherty (Yates)s and even girls on our team now that could possibly be (accoladed) for something like that. It’s a celebration but also just a continuing push to move forward and stand with women’s rights.”
Quarles Daniels acutely summarized Sunday’s emotions. Inside Crisler Center, it was a celebration of Dietz’ career, her accomplishments and the well-earned representation at the top of Crisler Center to be looked at for years to come. It was a reminder of the progress that’s been made since Dietz played and what is still yet to accomplish to achieve parallel recognition.
Hillmon and Flaherty Yates will both be honored with raised banners later this season, Flaherty on Jan. 25 against USC and Hillmon on Feb. 15 against Michigan State. There is optimism these honors, along with Dietz’s, mark a future of parallel treatment between programs.
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Yet perhaps most importantly, 2,000 replica banners were passed out pregame, and many young girls in attendance waved them around, a woman recognized with a jersey raised to the rafters a normal occurrence.
