Alumni Spotlight: Diane Bryniarski
10/15/2024 1:31:00 PM | SOFTBALL
Bryniarski played on the inaugural DePaul team from 1977-1979
CHICAGO- Diane Bryniarski will always be one of the first.
Her sophomore year at DePaul, softball was added as a sport on the heels of one of the most transformative laws to be passed in the United States, Title IX.
Title IX was a pivotal piece of Diane's path to college athletics, so much so that she has it hanging on her wall, adjusting it as she sits down to share her story.
"At the time I didn't know it, but we were setting the stage for women to compete at a higher level. We were competing for the legacy of DePaul softball," she reflects.
 Although she looks back and sees the importance of her years as a Blue Demon, the steep learning curve she and her teammates experienced is what stands out in her mind.
"We learned how to play with a 12-inch softball, even though we never had before. In fact, there was a lot of change, we learned how to play with mitts, how to play with a small ball, how to respond to different pitching."
She also admires how her teammates responded to adversity, and stepped into roles they weren't necessarily expecting.
"Nobody knew how to pitch, so I remember people playing these roles, even when they were not prepared to do so. Things were forced upon different women to do, just because we needed to have a team."
Bryniarski and her teammates paved the way literally and figuratively, as she recalls having to clear the field just to be able to practice.
"In the springtime, we would have mud footprints because kids walked in the mud and then it dried, so we would be raking, we would have to pick up trash. Before we practiced or played, we would all line up on one of the foul lines with our mitts and we walked across the field to pick up any glass or garbage. That was our job."
Aside from the hard work, Bryniarski remembers the joy she took from DePaul softball, and she hopes the current squad can find the same happiness.
"I would say to work hard and to say yes to things that you're asked because they will always lead you to something else. Above all, remember that sports are fun, and that's how you should always look at it."
Bryniarski also captained DePaul women's basketball to a 23-4 mark in 1979, which included the first overtime game in the squad's history.
Since her playing days, she has enjoyed a fulfilling career as a teacher and administrator at a multitude of Chicagoland schools, translating her leadership on the diamond to helping students when they need it most.
Now retired, you can find Bryniarski working as an official, substitute teaching, spending time with her mother, traveling the world, or presiding over the Chicago Accordion Club.
Her sophomore year at DePaul, softball was added as a sport on the heels of one of the most transformative laws to be passed in the United States, Title IX.
Title IX was a pivotal piece of Diane's path to college athletics, so much so that she has it hanging on her wall, adjusting it as she sits down to share her story.
"At the time I didn't know it, but we were setting the stage for women to compete at a higher level. We were competing for the legacy of DePaul softball," she reflects.
 Although she looks back and sees the importance of her years as a Blue Demon, the steep learning curve she and her teammates experienced is what stands out in her mind.
"We learned how to play with a 12-inch softball, even though we never had before. In fact, there was a lot of change, we learned how to play with mitts, how to play with a small ball, how to respond to different pitching."
She also admires how her teammates responded to adversity, and stepped into roles they weren't necessarily expecting.
"Nobody knew how to pitch, so I remember people playing these roles, even when they were not prepared to do so. Things were forced upon different women to do, just because we needed to have a team."
Bryniarski and her teammates paved the way literally and figuratively, as she recalls having to clear the field just to be able to practice.
"In the springtime, we would have mud footprints because kids walked in the mud and then it dried, so we would be raking, we would have to pick up trash. Before we practiced or played, we would all line up on one of the foul lines with our mitts and we walked across the field to pick up any glass or garbage. That was our job."
Aside from the hard work, Bryniarski remembers the joy she took from DePaul softball, and she hopes the current squad can find the same happiness.
"I would say to work hard and to say yes to things that you're asked because they will always lead you to something else. Above all, remember that sports are fun, and that's how you should always look at it."
Bryniarski also captained DePaul women's basketball to a 23-4 mark in 1979, which included the first overtime game in the squad's history.
Since her playing days, she has enjoyed a fulfilling career as a teacher and administrator at a multitude of Chicagoland schools, translating her leadership on the diamond to helping students when they need it most.
Now retired, you can find Bryniarski working as an official, substitute teaching, spending time with her mother, traveling the world, or presiding over the Chicago Accordion Club.
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