TUSKEGEE UNIV. ATHLETIC DIR.
“We are excited to see the return of Reginald Ruffin to Tuskegee,” said President Charlotte P. Morris. “He has proven himself a leader in SIAC football, and we look forward to him taking our program to the next level.” Ruffin returns to Tuskegee after completing one of the most success- ful decades in the history of Miles College and the Southern Intercol- legiate Athletic Conference. In nine seasons at the helm of the Gold- en Bears, Ruffin has led the program to four SIAC championships and an additional SIAC Championship game appearance. The school has also made two NCAA postseason appearances. Over nine seasons, Ruffin has won more than 60 percent of his games, going 59-39 over- all, and was named SIAC Coach of the Year three times. Ruffin spent five seasons at Tuskegee as the defensive coordinator and linebacker coach from 2006-2010. As defensive coordinator at Tus- kegee, Ruffin had the SIAC (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Con- ference) top scoring, pass, and rushing defense in 2007. His team’s defense finished second in scoring and among the leaders in most de- fensive categories in 2008 and posted the league’s top defense in 2009. Before his first stint with the Golden Tigers in 2002- 2003, he served as athletic director and head football coach at Choctaw County High School in Butler, Alabama. Other stops included times at West Geor- gia, his alma mater, North Alabama, and Jackson High School in Jackson, Alabama. Ruffin is a 1998 graduate of the University of North Alabama and holds a Master’s degree in Education Administration from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. During his playing days at the UNA, he became the Lions’ second three-time All-Ameri¬can and is the only Lion to be named All-America at two different positions: a defen¬sive end in 1995 and 1996 and a lineback- er in 1997. A four-year starter, he established a school record with 34 career sacks and the school single-season sack record with 11 in 1994. During his career, the Lions went 43-9 and won two Division II National Championships. In 2020, he was inducted into the UNA Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1994, Ruffin was selected Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Year. In 1995, he was selected first-team All-Gulf South Conference, first-team CoSIDA NCAA Division II All-South Region, third-team Co¬SIDA NCAA Division II All- American, third-team C. M. Frank All-American, and honorable mention Foot¬ball Gazette All-Amer- ican in 1996. Ruffin was selected second-team All-American in 1996 by the Associated Press, CoSIDA, Football Gazette, and All-Gulf South Conference and first-team CoSIDA All-South Region. In 1997, he was selected first-team All-American by the Associated Press, Football Gazette, American Foot¬ball Coaches Association, and sec- ond-team All-Ameri¬can pick by Daktronics as a linebacker. Ruffin is married to the former Eleanor McCollum, is the father of one son, Gabriel and one daughter Eleiona Key.
Reginald Ruffin, who has more than two decades of experience as a coach and administrator in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, was named the Director of Athletics at Tuskegee Uni- versity on Dec. 21, 2021. He later stepped down from coaching after the 2022 season to focus solely on administration. Ruffin spent the previous 10 years at Miles, most recently as the athletic director and head football coach. Ruffin hit the ground running in his role as Tuskegee’s athletic direc- tor and head coach as he immediately resurrected the football pro- gram, leading the Golden Tigers to an 8-3 record, eclipsing the 700 all-time win mark for the program, and reaching the SIAC Cham- pionship Game in his lone year at the helm. Ultimately, he named Tuskegee graduate Aaron James as the 18th head football coach in January of 2023. Throughout Cohen’s first 15 months at Tuskegee, 11 of 12 reached conference postseason play, while three programs advanced to their respective national tournaments, highlighted by both men and wom- en’s basketball making the NCAA South Regional Tournament, and softball also going to the South Regional Tournament for the second straight year. Men’s basketball advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tour- nament for the third time in the last four postseasons, and baseball hosted back-to-back regionals for the first time in program history. Also notably, Ruffin has played a major role in the facility upgrade and advancement project, which began in 2022, that included work on the Cleve Abbott Memorial Alumni Stadium, Daniel “Chappie” James Arena, Pepsico Tennis Courts, TU Softball Field and Wash- ington Field. Ruffin’s appointment comes at a crucial time as the athletics depart- ment prepares for the upcoming football recruiting season. Ruffin’s leadership will allow Tuskegee to get off to a quick start this spring.
Made with FlippingBook Digital Publishing Software