GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Brian Diemer is heading into the final stretch of his incredible 36-year coaching career at Calvin University.
This fall, Diemer announced that the 2021 season would be his final season as Calvin head men's and women's cross country coach.
This spring he is concluding his Calvin coaching tenure by serving as the head distance coach of the Calvin men's and women's track and field program.
Diemer has been the Calvin head men's cross country coach since 1986 and a distance coach with the Calvin men's and women's track and field team since the spring of 1987.
In 2006, he added head women's cross country coaching duties at Calvin to his responsibilities.
Combined, he has led the Calvin cross country program to 43 titles - 34 with the men's program and nine with the women's program. This fall he led the Calvin men's team to its 34th consecutive MIAA title – the longest active championship streak in the MIAA.
With 43 titles to his credit, he has recorded more MIAA titles than any coach in MIAA athletics history. Former Kalamazoo men's tennis coach George Acker is next on the list with 35 to his credit.
Diemer has also led the Knights to national prominence. In men's cross country, he led Calvin to four national titles, winning crowns in 2000, 2003, 2004 and 2006.
He also led the men's team to national runners-up finishes in 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2012. In addition, he helped the Calvin men win 28 Great Lakes Regional titles.
On the women's side, he helped Calvin win eight Great Lakes Regional titles and achieve four top-four national finishes including a second-place finish in 2008.
He coached countless All-Americans in both cross country and track and field. On the track, he coached five individual national champions including three in his own specialty race – the 3,000 meter steeplechase.
Diemer was named Great Lakes Regional Cross Country Coach of the Year 23 times - 19 times in men's cross country and four times in women's cross country. In 2000, 2003 and 2004 he was named the NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year in men's cross country after leading the Knights to the national championship. Diemer was then named NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year in 2006 after leading the Knights to their fourth national title.
Diemer arrived at Calvin in the midst of a decorated international track and field career. He ran collegiately at the University of Michigan where he ran cross country and track and field. As a senior, he captured Big 10 and later NCAA Division I national championships in the steeplechase, the event that propelled him to the Olympic level.
In 1984, he qualified for the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles and proceeded to win a bronze medal in the steeplechase. He later qualified for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona – both times in the steeplechase. In 1989 he won the Glen Cunningham Award, presented annually to the top distance runner in the United States of America. In 1992 he served as captain of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team. Diemer was the gold medalist in the steeplechase at the 1990 Goodwill Games and won the silver medal in the steeplechase in the 1995 Pan American games in Argentina. Diemer also won the silver medal at the U.S. Olympic Festival in 1995 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 2000, he was named to the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame.
When reflecting on his acceptance of the Calvin men's cross country position in 1986, Diemer recalled his own recruitment by then Calvin Director of Athletics David Tuuk who himself, was retiring as Calvin's acting head cross country coach.
"It seems like a short time ago that Coach David Tuuk asked if I would do the "hands on" coaching his final two years until his retirement. He wanted to concentrate on writing his book, while taking care of the administrative aspects of coaching. My stint was to be a two-year term with no chance of continuing because I was not faculty or staff at Calvin College. Apparently, some concessions were made, because I will be finishing 36 years of coaching at Calvin next month."
In the fall of 1986, the Calvin men's cross country team took a narrow second behind rival Hope for the MIAA title. The following fall, Calvin captured the title and ignited a historic streak. The only interruption was the cancelled 2020 MIAA fall cross country season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Diemer decided early this past fall that the 2021-22 academic year would be his final year coaching cross country as well as assisting with the track and field program.
"I will miss the kids and challenging them to 'strive for excellence!'" said Diemer. "They always gave me so much of their heart and efforts! They would do the work I asked for and they would start believing in themselves. To see that was and is a beautiful thing!"
Diemer continued his reflections by saying: "I will miss working with the coaches who bought into this whole program! They have given so much of themselves for the kids and Calvin! To share the special moments together as coaches and athletes when goals and dreams were realized is one of the greatest feelings of all time!"
Calvin Director of Athletics Dr. Jim Timmer offered words of appreciation for Diemer's work. "I can't thank Brian enough for his tremendous work and leadership," said Timmer. "I was a freshman student at Calvin the year he took over the men's cross country program and it has been amazing to see his work through the years. We wish him all the best in his retirement and salute Brian and his family for the tireless sacrifices that they have made for Calvin with their time and efforts."
Diemer will now turn his attention to his wife Kerri, his four children Kelsey, Kaitlin, McKenzie and Matthew as well as his growing number of grandchildren. Of note, his daughters Kelsey, Kaitlin and McKenzie ran under his guidance with the Calvin cross country and track and field program while his son Matthew ran with him with the Calvin track and field program. Diemer continues to co-own Everett's Landscape with members of his family – a local West Michigan company that was started by his father Everett Diemer in 1956.
"I am really looking forward to a slower pace of responsibility in this next phase of life that Kerri and I share," said Diemer. "We want to be readily available for each other...and to see our kids and grandkids. It's a phase of life we have always looked forward to, but it has indeed come faster than I can believe! Where did these 36 years go?!! It's been great! Thanks for the opportunity to work at Calvin University and with the best group of kids in the world!"
According to Timmer, the next Calvin head cross country coach will be announced later this spring.
