Here to Serve

Had he ever played the sport?

 

Well, actually, no.

 

Already an accomplished soccer player and swimmer, he found joy in the chance to try something new. He asked questions. He was a quick study. He savored the challenge of stepping outside his comfort zone, learning on the fly, and growing. Little could his 17-year-old self imagine that his willingness to venture into uncharted territory was a precursor for his future endeavors.

 

Ruhl is Collegiate’s Sports Communications Manager, a new position several years on the drawing board and now a reality. His job description is evolving. His life experience makes him a natural to solidify it.

 

“It’s long overdue that we start looking at sports from all phases, both inside and outside the lines,” said Andrew Stanley, Collegiate’s Director of Athletics. “Having a sports program is far more than just playing games. It’s been great to see the process get going.”

 

Ruhl oversees the athletic department’s Twitter and Instagram platforms, live streaming of varsity events, photography, creation of recruiting videos, and training of students to use the video equipment. When he gauged interest recently in starting a broadcasting club, he received upwards of 100 positive responses.

 

“It’s going to be a slow build,” Stanley said. “We’re not going to rush. We’re going to get this right. We’re excited about what’s ahead.”

 

Ruhl grew up in Northern Ohio where he experienced enough winter weather that upon graduation from high school he headed to the University of Miami (Fla.) with plans to pursue a marine biology degree. He soon discovered that the program wasn’t the right path for him, so he pivoted to broadcast journalism, a field in which he had no experience save for his lifelong interest in sports and propensity for record-keeping from his swimming days.

 

He soon landed a job with WVUM, the campus radio station, worked as a producer and engineer, and did play-by play for Hurricanes’ football, basketball, and baseball games.

 

He’d found his niche.

 

The summer after his sophomore year, he interned at WQAM in Miami where he supported broadcasts of Heat and Marlins games and the Dolphins training camps. All the while, he was watching, inquiring, and picking the brains of broadcasters who would become mentors. As with his initial foray into lacrosse, he was a sponge for information.

 

The summer gig earned him a job offer, which he readily accepted. Among his new responsibilities, he produced broadcasts of Marlins and Florida Panthers games as well as several sports call-in shows.

 

“That was the beginning of my career in radio,” he said one morning recently as he sat in his office just off the lobby of the Jacobs Gym.  “Then, it really took an extreme turn. Along came the dot-com world.”

 

After three years at WQAM, he accepted a position as executive producer with SportsLine.com, a Fort Lauderdale-based startup which hoped to compete with espn.com.

 

“Through my curiosity and interest in technology and the internet,” he said, “I taught myself how to do HTML [the language that writes internet pages]. I started to see that this might be a career path more appealing than radio. I’d come to the realization that I wasn’t going to be an on-air talent. If I stayed in radio, I’d be a behind-the-scenes person. I wanted a bit more.”

 

He eventually became SportsLine.com’s product manager charged with determining the appearance of the website and the juxtaposition of written content, photos, and ads as well as the tools facilitating smooth navigation from page to page.

 

In 1997, the organization became CBS SportsLine.com and several years later CBSSports.com.

 

Ruhl was in his element. The work was challenging and meaningful, and he was able to stay in South Florida with his wife Christina and daughter Jordan and still travel throughout the country covering major professional sporting events.

 

Then in 2010, his life took another turn when the organization shifted its focus and eliminated his position.

 

“It was a reboot for me,” he said. “I interviewed a bunch of places but didn’t find another job in the same genre. There were limited opportunities.”

 

As one door closed, though, another opened.  Jeff Johnson, the Director of Athletics at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, hired him to coach middle school lacrosse. The next fall, he assumed the role as defensive line coach on the varsity football team.

 

Had he ever played football? No, but lack of background had never before hindered him. Inquisitive, creative, and passionate, he did his due diligence, learned quickly, and had a great time.

 

Recognizing a need and knowing Ruhl’s background, Johnson hired him as the department’s video coordinator, a role that morphed into sports information director, and eventually associate athletic director, communications.

 

“The experience was incredible,” Ruhl said. “I loved working there. Great people. Great school. Incredible athletic program. Never a shortage of stories to cover or athletes to focus on. It truly was a transformative experience.”

 

In 2021, Bill and Christina decided to move north to be closer to Jordan, now a sophomore at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, and other family in Wilmington, Del.

 

At the same time, Collegiate was seeking to fill the Sports Communications Manager position with someone with Ruhl’s skill set and dedication to excellence. He came aboard August 15.

 

Above all, Ruhl sees his job as service oriented.

 

“It’s important to me to let coaches focus on the X’s and O’s,” he said. “I’m here to help with technology and promotion and facilitate everything they’re doing. My door’s always open. I’m always happy to have people stop by, ask questions, and raise their hand if they want to get involved. I’m a big fan of communication and dialogue. The more that can take place, the better.”

~Weldon Bradshaw