Donna and John Dye
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It all started when high school freshman Derek Dye announced to his dad, John Dye, that he had joined the track team at Middletown MD High School. Dad was only a casual fan of track at that point, but he was a lifelong sports nut, computer nut and stats nut. Dad put the three together along with track dad instincts and started a stat service (results and rankings) for coaches in western Maryland. Daughter Natalie, a year behind Derek in school, joined the team the next year.
Dad's hobby was always about keeping track of the kids' competition. As the kids got better, the sphere of interest grew wider -- county, region, and state. In 1997, Derek (high jump) and Natalie (pole vault) each won Maryland state championships. Now, Dad wanted to know how they ranked nationally, so he changed DyeStat.com to a national web site, with national rankings and on-site coverage of major meets around the country.
In 2000 DyeStat faced a big fork in the road. With Derek and Natalie graduated from high school, the track dad motivation no longer applied. DyeStat needed funding for expenses and John sought sponsors. First Rivals and then Nike met that need, along with the National Scholastic Sports Foundation and other meet sponsors such as Foot Locker, Great Southwest, Golden West, Iolani HI, Mobile AL, New York Armory, Portage MI, Mt. SAC, Simplot, and Sugar Bowl.
Site traffic soared each year, making DyeStat the most popular source in the nation for news of high school track and field and cross country. The hobby became a full time occupation, and a family affair. Derek regularly put his computer science skills to use in behalf of DyeStat. Mom (Donna Dye), started talking to people on the sidelines at meets and taking pictures, and her page, Donna on the Side, became one of the most popular features of DyeStat. So it was fitting at this time that John and Donna retired from their primary jobs to focus on DyeStat.
In 2004, the Dyes sold DyeStat to Student Sports, and DyeStat was able to start hiring full time staff. In 2008, Student Sports including DyeStat was sold to ESPN, and DyeStat became the track and field and cross country component of ESPN’s high school initiative called ESPN RISE.
Today, John is a full time employee of ESPN and Donna works as a contractor. Both continue to do what they love, albeit with a different focus and slower pace than they once did. The Great Southwest is one of a select number of meets that John and Donna continue to cover every year. It's a quality meet run by wonderful people.
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John Dye is Editor-in Chief of 