The NCAA News

16 THE NCAA NEWS/March 11,199Z
Diemer works hard to keep dream alive
By David D. Smale
I‘hr NC‘AA News Staff
Hrian Dirmer grew up dreaming
about running in the Olympics. But
it was something he never really
thought was possible.
Then, III 1984, Diemer found
himself m Los Angeles, California,
whcrc he won a bronze medal in the
3,000-meter steeplechase at the
XXIII Summer Games.
Four years later in Seoul, South
Korea, Dicmer finished 15th. He
had injured his hamstring the pre-
vious year and was unable to start
training until May, less than two
months bcforc the Olympic Trials.
Hc made the team “by the skin of
my teeth, but I couldn’t get over the
hump and start feeling good because
of a lack of hasc (training),” he said.
“I got into the semis but didn’t have
any II~ lelt.”
Dlemcr didn’t give up. He rc-
gained his strength and finished
fifth at the World Championships
in 7i)kyo last August.
“I look at that as very encourag-
ing,” he said. “It was a very big step
up. It shows that I can run with the
hest in the world. In an Olympic
year, anything is possible.”
Middle of the middle
Diemer is 30, right in the middle
of the prime for a middle-distance
runner. With continued training, he
is confident of once again being a
medal contender at the Olympics in
Barcelona, Spain, this summer.
“1 expect to make the team, but I
realire that there are a lot of other
gvod runners out there,” he said. “It
would be pretty naive to think they
would play dead. Just like I came
out of the woodwork in 1984, there
will be somebody else coming out of
thK woodwork this year. I do know
that it will be awfully hard to keep
mK 011 the team if I am healthy.”
But this is not just a story of a
runner who overcame an injury to
regain his place in the world stand-
ings. Diemer is not a high-profile
athlete who commands big money
just to appear at a competition. He
holds down two jobs to support his
Administxative
Committee minutes
I. Acting for the Council, the
Administrative Committee:
a Took Ihc iollowmg ac1ions regarding
cImlnGI1cc\ and committee appointments.
(I) AppoInted Roy Kramer. Southcaslcm
Conlcrcnrc, to serve as chair ol the IXvision
I Men’, Ila\ketball hlp at the 1992
C’onvcnllcm.
b. Appomlcd the followmg lo serve a!,
Council ha~aonr to f’rrbldenls (‘ommlbblon
%uhcommtttees. Suhcommi~~ee on Slrategic
Planning. Rohcrt A. Alost, Northwestern
Stale lln~vcr~~ty(l.ou~s~ana), Subcammlttcc
on the Role and Struclure of the Commi\-
smn. Rohrrt G. Bottoms. DcPauw IJrnver-
rity. and Subcomm~t~cc on Strenythcnlng
the Role of the Chief Exccur~ve Offircr.
Anthony F Ccddia. Shippcmburg I’:liverrlty
of Pcnnsylvanla
c. (iranted a rcques~ FIV a waiver of the
cr~;rnsler rcsldence reolLircmenl per Bylaw
I4 Y l-2-(a) lor a stl!dcnl-athlete who Iran,-
ferrrd alter inadvcrlcnl involvcmcnt 111 a
vloLl1ion 01 the rcquiremrntb lor Cinanclal
ald. p#acIlrc and competltlon as set forth !n
Hylaw 14.6.4. noting tha(1he rludent%tthlcre
was ~napptoprlatcly advised by the original
mcmhcr instltutlon and would no1 havr
cncwnterrd the violation had he heen a&
vlacd properly.
d look no action on a tequrst hv a
rrprebcntative nl a mcrnbet Inslllutton 1~~1 a
walvcr per Bylaw 16.13. I prndmg receipt of
an official rcquesl in that regard from the
Univcrbity of New York at Stony Hrook, as a
new I)ivirmn III reprcsentauvr on the Spc-
cial Advi\nry Cnmmlltre to Rcv~cw tmple-
mrntatwn ol 1990 Convention Pr~oposal
No 24. ellcc~~vc Immediately.
b. Affirmed Ihe 1091 Adminis;trativr Corn-
mil1ce action in regard to the vollng status
01 Ihe Rig Last (‘onferrnce: 1 e . to he a
vcrtlng conference on foothall issues, the
crmlerence must deter mine a foothall L-ham-
plan via regular-\cason compctlllon on Ihc
playmg II&l
c look the lollow~ng .~cti~n* LII, request\
10,. waiver\ r>l Ihe tranqtel residence requtre-
men1 fnt leason\ of health per Bylaw
14.Y. I .2-(a).
II) Dcmcd a rcqucs1 suhmltred by the
Untvrrslty ol the Pacific (California) on
bchall ul a \tudcnx+thlete now attending
(‘alifornia State linlvcrs~ly~ Domlngucr
H&\
(2) Granted a rcques1 submitted hy I he
(‘ltadrl 1ltu-
1lon Ior. wa~ver’pcr Ilylaw I6 I3 I to permit
the m\lituticm to reunhursc a studcn1&athlctc
Ior property rlolrn lrom hn aulurnohile
approprlatr campu, oll~c~al~, accompanied
by othrr bupprlr1ing intotmatmn mcludlng
the in,li1u(lnn’\ latinnate for hrhrvmg the
circumsIance involved was athletically rc-
lated
e Rrv~cwcd adralt 01 a proposed covering
document to accompany the mailing of the
bummary of inrtitutmnal gradua(lon raIc5,
as well ah several moddlcarlona in the draft
propored hy the chair ol the Spccml Advl-
rory Commlltcc IO Review Implementation
VI 1990 (~‘onvention Proposal No 24: ap-
proved the document wnh the proposed
moddlcatlona and nolcd,thal Ihe Admmla-
trallvr Commltccc wuuld review 1he graclua-
Iltcd m advance
3 Report of actions taken hy rhe executive
director per Conbtllullon 4 3 2 Ac(lng for
the Exrcutlve Committee,
Approved a rccommcndatlon by the Worn-
en’s Softhall (‘ommi(tec that the Unlvcrslry
ol Central Oklahoma he realigned from rhe
South rcglon to the Mldwcst rsglon for the
IVY2 I)tvtbmn II Worncn’a Sollball Cham-
pionship
orqqnally rccommcndcd. wllh the under-
btandlng 1hat approprla1c malerlal, are
available (c.g.. the previour year‘s N(‘AA
Manual. the C‘onventmn Oflxlal NotIce.
reports tn The NCAA News 01 the Convcnm
tlon actwns, and a summary 01 change in
rccrullmg Ieplslatlun) to obviate concern
tegardingthe fact that non all coaches will he
ahlc 10 ohtam copxa ol the rcvlsed NCAA
Manual in March.
g. Authorired the exrcut~ve director to act
for the Admmlstranve C‘ommlttcc m sclcct~
lng and appointing a special cofnmittee 10
review the penalty ?(ruc(ure in the Asrocia-
Iion‘\ GUI rent enforcement procedures. not-
~ng thal the spcr~al comrmttec will be
cumpoted primarily of representatives of
memhrr Instltutlons
2. Acr~np for the I,xecutive (‘ommittee.
the Adrmmstral~vc Commlttcc
a. Approved a recommendation by Ihe
IXvlrion I-AA toothall C‘nmmiltee that
Marshall Clniversity he the site of the 1992
and 1993 Divlsmn ILAA Football Cham-
plonrhlp game\
h Appolnred Michael M. Gilleran. Wesr
(‘oa\r Conference. and I.aurence C Kratmg
Ir. Srton Hall lJmvcrs;lty. to the Special
Comnnr~cc IO Rcvlcw Recornmendation~
Rcpardlng Dlstrlhu1lon 01 Rrvcnucs. rc-
pIacIng David M Gavltt, no longer In
college athletics. and I homat J. I-rerickb.
deceased
c ncfcrrrd actlon until the May Executive
SW Adrrrirrislrativ~. page I7
kids,” said Calvin head men’s track
coach Ralph Honderd. “He is very
humble about his accomplishments
and is a tremendous role model. A
couple people have come here be-
cause of Brian.
“The nice thing about having
Brian here IS that a student doesn’t
have to give up a good, Christian,
liberal arts education to get training
with a world-class runner. This
school is well-known academically.
To get to train under Brian is the
best of both worlds. The runners
have really improved under Brian.”
Diemer is not sure how much
longer he’ll keep up the lifestyle of a
competitive athlete. His training
and competing take him away from
his Iamily. Hc says he’ll probably
continue at least through the World
Championships in 1993, but then he
will take it one year at a time.
In the meantime, he’s holding on
to that childhood dream of running
in the Olympics once more. “It’s a
great feeling to bc in the Olympics.
It’s kind of like a huge dream come
true.”
Olympic bronze medalist Brian
Diemer is a Calvin College track
aide
Interpretations
Committee minutes
Acting for the Council, the Inter-
prctations Committee issued the
following interpretations:
Tryouts
I. (‘onch’s involvement in local cportc
club thrt include< prospects who reside
outside the SO-mile radius. It 1~ not pcrmib-
,ihle for an insGlution‘\ coach to bc involved
in activities with a local sports club or 1cam
that ~ncludcs pro\pcc1~ who rcaide uulride a
SO~mllc radlub lrom rhe instnulion’s campus
The cornmi(tee noted that in club program>
involving multiple teams (e.g., I6 and under,
I I( and under) or mulrlple bports, the X-mile
radlur i> applicable only 10 the team with
which rhc institution‘\ coach I Involved.
provldcd 1hc coach doe\ 11~1 a%s~gn a pro>-
pcct outbide 1he SO&mile radius to another
coach‘* team. Further, a coach may be
mvnlved In actlvltlca with individuals who
are not ol prospect age (L.C., prior to the
nmth grade). rcgardlc,, of where such Indim
vldualr rc>,dc. [Kefercncc~ NCAA Bylaws
I3 02.8 (prospectlvc student-athlctch);
13.12.2.4 (local bportr cluhn)]
1992 NCAA Convention
Propasal No. 69
2. Terms uf finnncinl nid ngreement-
voluntary withdrswnl. An Instllution may
cancel immrd&cly the financial ald ol a
rludent who I) awarded aid on a tern-to-
term baais if the student-athlete voluntardy
wIthdraw% from the lcam prior to the mbtl-
tutinn‘s first compccition in that term. I he
committee noted that the provisions ol
Proposal No. 68-I arc “01 applicahlr 11 an
Inbt~lu(~cm does not engage in any compel,-
Iion during the term In a rrlalcd rnat1eI; Ihe
comrrnllcc nored that an matirution may not
ucllire the provls~ona of Proposal No. 68-l
10 cancel thr lmancial ald of a ,tudentG
athlete who 15 awaldrd aid on a yearly hasls
once rhe studentGalhlcte participalrb In any
competnion durmg Ihe nontradltlonal or
tradltlonal xgment of the mbtltution‘c play-
~ngbcaborl.lReferencr IS.3.4.L(d)(gradua-
clan or cancrllahon permitted- voluntary
withdrawal)]
Professional spottr organization/
charitable/educational promotions
3. Profersional spurts orgnniration rpun-
wring P public service announcement utilil-
ing student-nthleter with remaining
eligibility. A professional sport> organization
(e 8. NatIonal Baskethall Abhociation) may
utlhrc the names or pictures of enrolled
bludcn&athlrtes with eligibility rernalrunp in
n public scrv~cc a~nouncemcnl promoting
an cducarional or charltablc organiration to
he alrcd during a prolesblonal contesl. pro-
vldcd the studrnlGathlcte‘s name or plcrure
15 not utillrrd to promnte the prolessional
organiration. [ Refercnccb. 12.0 I 2 (clear
hnc of demarcation), 12.5. I I (instllutlonal.
charitahlc or educational promotlons)l
Evaluation/tryouts
4. Conch’c involvement in locnl sports
club-effect ou evaluation limitations. If an
instltutlon‘s coactnng staff mcmbcr 15 m-
volvcd with a local bporr> club durmg the
academic year, the institution does not use
one of its four evaluations for any prospect
par1lclpatmg in any competnion against the
Iucal team the individual coache\ I he con-
mittee noted that any otherron1csts ohrcrvcd
hy the roaching stall mcmbcr ~nvolvmg
probpcclivc btudenr-achlcre> (e.g.. scouting
lurure opponeno for the club team) must
count as an evaluation for each prospect
participating in the conlcrt [Rclrrcnccs
I3 I 6 (Ilmltatlons on the numhcr 01 cvalua-
twns -alI sports). I3 I2 2.4 (local sports
club>), IC 3/ 19191, Item No. 3-c]
1992 Convention Proposal No. 43
5. llre of ccrimmnges and exhibitium in
determining the first half of the institutionk
l eason. An lnstltutlon must exclude scrinl-
mage, and cxh~bltlon conlcbta m oalcula(mg
the first half of the instnuhonb acason lor
purpnres of Ihe hardship waiver. [Refercnce~
I4 2 5 (hardship waiver): 14.2.5.2.2 (firs1
hall of season calculation)]
Scouting
6. Definition of “cm une uccasiun” when
scouting opponentr. In the hportb of baakct-
ball, loothall, lacrosse and women‘s volley-
hall. an inst!tution‘r coachtng ,tall mcmhcr
(whtr,e lcam 15 no1 parllclpatmg In the
competition) may not receive cxpcnbcb to
scout more than one contest or match In-
volvmg an opponent. even If the opponent is
lnvolvcd m a multi-compehtlon event (e g .
tournamem). [Relercncc>. 11.6.2.1 (harkct-
ball. foothall. lacrosse and women‘s volley-
ball). Il.6.2.1 I frrgular~srason or post-
reason murnamencs); 11.6.2.1.3 (dcslgnahng
the opponent)]
Coaching-restricted earnings
7. Restricted-earnings cunch empluyed by
institution’s conch. An Instltutlon’s rc-
,tricted-earnmga coach may not he employed
hy a private company owned by another of
the mrtltuhon’h coaching staff members
wirhout including such compensatmn m the
limits estahlished for the rrstrlcted-earnmgs
coach 11 the business is operated by the
athleucs department or relates to the coach-
ing activities of the owner (e.p , directing
coach’s show. schoduhng coach’s speaking
engagcmenrs). [Reference: I I .fJ2.3 (rem
rrricted-earnings coach)]
Coaches
8. Definition of “combined’* rpnrtn pru-
aram. A member mstltutlon that conducts a
combmed program (i.e., sports program in
which all coaching staff members are I”~
valved in practlcr actlvltler or compctltion
wllh holh the men’> and women’s teams ou
a dally basis) may employ rhe total numher
of coaches specified separately for the apph-
cahlr men’s and women’s bpor1. [Relerence:
I I 7 4 (coachmg hrmtalions sports other
than football)]
1992 Convention Proposal No. W
Y. Issues related to volunteer cunch. The
comrmttrr revIewed the provisions of lYY2
ConventIon Proposal No. 60 (effective Au-
gubt I, IYY2) and delermined the followmg
a In sports other than foo1ball and bab-
SW Intc*rpretations. page 17