Greg Ruffin is set to begin his first season at Bethune-Cookman University, where he will serve as the tight ends coach for the Wildcats under third-year head coach Terry Sims. Ruffin’s appointment was made final in a decision by Sims in February.
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Ruffin comes to Bethune-Cookman from Texas College, where he was head coach of the program. However, prior to his stint at Texas College, Ruffin was head coach for Paine College in the school's resurgence of football in 2013, after the program was dormant for more than 50 years. He served in that capacity for one season before the program was eventually suspended due to financial troubles at the college.
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No stranger to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level of football, Ruffin worked at Texas Southern University prior to his appointment as head coach of the now-defunct Paine College program. With the TSU Tigers out of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), he served as the Recruiting Coordinator and Tight Ends Coach during the 2012 season. And just before TSU, he served six seasons at Jackson State University, helping the program win the 2007 SWAC title and a runner-up finish in 2009. In his duties at Jackson State, Ruffin served as the Recruiting Coordinator and Running Backs Coach. He arrived to to JSU from Tuskegee University, where he served as running backs coach under Head Coach Rick Comegy.
Before his arrival at Tuskegee in 2005, Ruffin served one season (2004) as defensive assistant coach at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Just before his stay with Ouachita Baptist, he served one year (2002) as head football coach at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. In that capacity, he resurrected the Shaw football program after a 23-year hiatus, propelling the first-year program to a 7-3 record. Ruffin spent one year at Benedict College (2001) as the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach.
During two seasons (1999-2000) at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, he worked in four different capacities – offensive coordinator, wide receivers coach, strength and conditioning coach and recruiting coordinator. He served on the staff of his alma mater of Lane for one season (1998) as receivers coach and recruiting coordinator.
His first collegiate coaching assignment was in 1997 with Kemper Military Community College in Booneville, Missouri, working as the running backs coach. In 1997, Kemper Military finished 10-2 and was ranked seventh in the country in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
In 1995, Ruffin coached the wide receivers and defensive backs at Northside High School in Jackson, Tennessee; and running backs in 1996 at Jackson Central-Merry High School – also located in Jackson, Tennessee.
Ruffin started as a freshman at quarterback at Wentworth Military Academy, before transferring to Lane College in 1993. At Lane, he was the starting fullback who paved the way for the late Fred Lane Jr., who had a successful NFL career with the Carolina Panthers. In 1995, Lane posted a 9-1 record, the best in the school's history.
Throughout his career, he has been a part of two different programs that have resurrected their football programs after lengthy absences (Lincoln University, 1999 | Shaw University, 2002).
He is a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., the American Football Coaches Association and the USSSA Baseball Umpires Association. Ruffin is married to Mia B. Ruffin, and they are the parents of three. He is a graduate of Lane College (B.S. Criminal Justice), as well as Jackson State University (M.S. Sports Admin).
