SUNY Cortland Athletics

Cortland's first T-formation quarterback, Laurens Dietz is the former director of health, physical education and recreation at Frontier Central School in Hamburg. He has won a number of coaches awards in Erie County high school ranks and has been honored for his service to youth. He served five years as president of the Erie County Interscholastic Conference which has 28 schools.

Laurens has served as sectional basketball chairman and as a member of the State's Intersectional Committee dealing with high school athletes. In five years of coaching high school basketball, his teams won three league titles and one sectional crown. In 14 years of coaching baseball, his teams have nine league championships and seven sectional titles. At Cortland, he earned 10 varsity letters in football, basketball and baseball and was captain of all three teams. Laurens was a Red Letter winner in basketball and was named "Sports King" as a senior.

Dietz played professional baseball in the Brooklyn Dodger minor league chain.

UPDATE: Dietz passed away on September 14, 2010, at the age of 92.