NASHVILLE – Gregory Ruff, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications and Broadcasting at Trevecca Nazarene University, has been named a finalist for the inaugural FloCollege CSC Spotlight Award. Announced by FloSports Vice President and General Manager John Turner, the new recognition honors sports communicators across FloCollege partner conferences who have made significant contributions to storytelling, student-athlete promotion and broadcast production.

"If a picture is worth a thousand words, then video production is worth infinitely more," said Mark Elliott, Director of Athletics at Trevecca. "We are blessed to have Greg Ruff, DK and their team leading the digital content, broadcasting and storytelling efforts that are so important to a modern athletic department. Their work helps us serve our student-athletes, connect with our fans and share the story of Trevecca Athletics every day."
While Ruff's name appears on the award, he is quick to point to the team behind Trevecca Athletics' media and broadcasting efforts.

"This recognition really belongs to a lot of people, people who have been willing to invest their time, talent, and energy into serving our student-athletes," Ruff said. "Nearly 20 years ago, David Klimkowski and I believed this was where college athletics was headed, and we've had a lot of talented people help bring that vision to life along the way."

"Our two athletic directors during this time, Brenda Patterson and Mark Elliott, have both supported our efforts in numerous ways and trusted our vision."

That vision began long before streaming became commonplace in college athletics. Ruff and Klimkowski took an early chance on live streaming after being approached about utilizing excess bandwidth for online broadcasts.
"After about a year of hearing about it, we finally said yes," Ruff said. "At the time, we believed Trevecca would eventually sell its radio stations, and we thought audio and video streaming might be the next opportunity. We jumped in, and that started a journey neither of us could have fully imagined."

What began as an experiment helped position Trevecca among the early adopters of live audio and video streaming in college athletics. Over the years, Trevecca expanded its coverage across multiple sports and brought live streaming to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference basketball and baseball championships before any other NCAA Division II conference was broadcasting postseason championship events. The program has continued investing in production quality, storytelling, and fan engagement, while adapting to an ever-changing digital landscape.

"I've always believed that every game has three teams competing," said David Klimkowski, Trevecca's Broadcast and Technology Director. "The home team and visiting team are fighting to win the game, and the broadcast team is competing to produce the best broadcast possible for the athletes, coaches, families and fans watching around the world.

"Greg is 100 percent correct that what people see today is the result of years of growth and a lot of people investing in the vision. We've gone from a single broken camera, a borrowed computer and donated bandwidth streaming at 360p to producing broadcasts with five or more cameras, wireless cameras, instant replay, graphics, and pregame, halftime, and postgame shows.

"Today, we have a small team of student workers, graduate assistants and staff members who help make every broadcast possible. Greg and I are grateful for everyone who has poured into this effort, whether through their time, expertise, financial support or equipment donations."

Klimkowski, who worked alongside Ruff in building the foundation of Trevecca's digital broadcasting efforts, remains a central figure in the program's development and growth.

Today's operation is supported by a team that includes graduate assistants Wes Sharpe, David Elvir and Stephen Swoner, along with student workers. Lawson Smith has also played a key role helping coordinate live productions across multiple sports throughout the academic year and produce.

Together, the group produces hundreds of live events, feature stories, interviews, social media projects, and digital content pieces annually while helping tell the stories of Trevecca student-athletes, coaches and programs.
"This recognition is meaningful because it suggests we've had some success in that mission over the years," Klimkowski added. "We're grateful for that, and we're grateful for everyone who helped make it possible."

The FloCollege CSC Spotlight Award celebrates athletic communicators and College Sports Communicators professionals who elevate their institutions through strategic storytelling, advocacy, relationship building, and broadcast excellence.

Each finalist receives $500, while one grand prize winner will receive $5,000. The winner will be announced during the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Convention in Las Vegas.

FloCollege continues to invest in college athletics through broadcast infrastructure, content creation, marketing support, and digital storytelling initiatives that help increase visibility for student-athletes and institutions across the country.