Gregory Ruff finished his undergraduate work in the spring of 1987 but returned to Trevecca in July of 1998 to lead the school's first Office of Sports Information and to serve as the first Director of Sports Broadcasting. Eventually, he created Trevecca's first live-streaming video to complement the audio sports broadcasts on the radio
He started as the first full-time sports information director in school history. He was named assistant athletic director in 2020. The areas of responsibility include production of www.tnutrojans.com, athletic social media, print, and broadcast of Trojan athletics.
Ruff completed Trevecca's Masters of Organizational Leadership program in 2013 and is currently completing Trevecca's Doctor of Education in Leadership and Professional Practice.
Upon graduation from Trevecca, Ruff joined WCOR radio in Lebanon, Tennessee as their general manager. He later became the program director for WWTN 99.7 FM in Nashville and an associate producer for SportsPlus on WB TV58 in Nashville, a live nightly sports show. He worked with numerous live game broadcasts included the Nashville Predators, Vanderbilt, MTSU, and high school state championships.
At WWTN, he was the program director as well as the host of a nightly sports talk show. Before being named the program director, he worked as a news and production director. The lineup included legendary broadcasters like Teddy Bart and the Roundtable and George Plasters Sports Night. During his time at WTN, he helped launch The Money Game, what is now known as the Dave Ramsey Show.
At Trevecca, Ruff and his staff own several honors and recognition for their production of the athletic media guides and website design and content. The Trevecca sports information department earned more than 30 "Best of CoSIDA" or "Best of NAIA-SIDA" publication or website awards in its first ten years.
The USTFCCA selected Ruff as the NCAA Division II Excellence in Communications award winner for his work with the Trevecca cross country teams in the Fall of 2016.
In the 2003-04 season, Trevecca became one of the few non-NCAA Division I schools to begin live streaming audio of their basketball broadcasts over the internet.
During the 2006-07 season, Ruff led the launch of Trevecca's live streaming video broadcasts of the school's volleyball and basketball games on the internet. Since then, the school has added live video for baseball and selected soccer and softball games. The venture has also included live cross country meets and golf tournaments.
Ruff earned awards for his work at Trevecca, including being named the 2007-08 TranSouth Sports Information Director of the Year.
For nearly ten years Ruff served as the sports information director for the TranSouth Athletic Conference. In 2016, Ruff was selected as the sports information chair for the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
CoSIDA scheduled Ruff as a speaker in the area of social media at the national convention. Previously, he presented on various media relations topics the NAIA-SIDA convention and meetings. For more than a decade he led the judging for an assigned category of the national CoSIDA publication contests. He also served several years as a judge for the NAB annual national collegiate broadcaster's awards.
Ruff was selected to host the NAIA-SIDA national meetings at Trevecca when CoSIDA visited Nashville.
Prior to returning to Trevecca, Ruff provided play-by-play for Vanderbilt University women's basketball and baseball, Belmont University's basketball, the Ohio Valley Conference's basketball championships, the NAIA National Championships Network, Voice of the Nashville Speedway, and the Nashville Stars of the World Basketball League. His play-by-play work has included numerous high school football and basketball games, including the broadcasting of many of the TSSAA State Championship broadcasts.
Ruff is a veteran of the Middle Tennessee media circles. His career in radio started at Trevecca's WNAZ in the early '80s. While at Trevecca, he branched out with announcer positions at local radio stations WWGM (1560 AM), WNAH (1360), and WQQK (92.1 FM).
His radio career included stops with legendary radio stations WLAC (1510 AM), WSIX (980 AM, 97.9 FM), and the home of the Grand Ole Opry WSM (650 AM). He has also worked with The Tennessee Radio Network.
He continues to keep his hand in radio while at Trevecca. He has a long-standing relationship with SportsRadio 560 WNSR in Nashville, where he hosted a regular a weekday afternoon spot on the station and still fills in on various sports talk shows. He has assisted 102.5 The Game in the same role as a fill-in talk show host.
His freelance work included reporting for ESPN Radio, CBS Radio, ABC Radio, Fox Sports Radio, The NFL on Westwood One, Sporting News Radio, and the Mutual Radio Network.
His freelance writing credits include several publications, including The Tennessean, The Nashville Banner, and The Sports Page.
Ruff gained public relations and marketing experience working in the Christian music business with the Benson Record Company and Atkins, Muse, and Associates. At both stops, he assisted in the promotion of record releases and concert promotions.
Gregory and his wife, Amy, live in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. They have three children—Bethany, Briley, and Breelyn. He and his family are members of Hermitage Church of the Nazarene.
