Hall of Fame
Dianne Urey played volleyball at Texas Wesleyan in the 1980-82 seasons. In her senior season she helped the Lady Rams to a national runner-up finish with an overall record of 45-22. The team’s 45 wins are still a school record.
That magical 1982 season marked the first of nine NAIA National Championship appearances by the Texas Wesleyan Volleyball program. Urey not only became the program’s first All-America selection that season (she was a 1st-team selection while fellow NAIA and Texas Wesleyan Hall of Fame Member Willa Gipson was a 2nd-team selection), she was also the first player to be named All-American and Academic All-American in the same season. Only one other player (Rachel Loftin, 2005) has accomplished that feat since. In 1991, Urey and Willa Gipson were both inducted to the NAIA Hall of Fame.
In addition to three seasons of volleyball, Urey also played two seasons of softball and one season of basketball for the Lady Rams.
Urey is now a Certified Physician Assistant working in the Parkland Health and Hospital System. She graduated from Texas Wesleyan with a BBA and went on to receive her Bachelors of Education and teaching certificate in 1984.
Following her graduation she coached high school volleyball, soccer, basketball, and softball for 11 years in Texas and California, receiving numerous Coach of the Year Awards. She served as Athletic Director at 29 Palms High School in 29 Palms, CA, and also ran the All American Volleyball Clinics (1983-2003) in North Texas, providing summer day camp volleyball lessons for girls in the area.
In 1997, Urey returned to the University of North Texas Health Science Center and completed the Physician Assistant Program in 2000. She earned her Masters of Physician Assistant Studies in 2002. She has worked in family practice, surgery, and urgent care. In 2004, she was awarded the Preceptor of the Year award for working with PA students from UNT, and in 2009 she was voted Parkland Hospital’s PA of the Year.
In 2008, Urey was commissioned into the United States Army Reserves Medical Specialist Corps. In 2010, she was an Honor Graduate of the United States Army Flight Surgeon School and served a 14-month deployment during Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2010-11. Urey earned several medals in her time of service and was honorably discharged in 2013.
