This profile on 2011 CoSIDA Lester Jordan Award winner Kevin Ruple, Baldwin-Wallace College Sports Information Director, is the ninth in a series of profiles and features on CoSIDA's 2011 Special Awards recipients. See link to original release and the March/April schedule of the Special Award profiles/features, below.
THE CoSIDA SPECIAL AWARDS FEATURES SERIES
March
Tue. 1 Special Awards general announcement
Thr. 3 Capital One Academic All-America Hall of Fame release
Thr. 3 Ann King (The Sage Colleges): 25-Year Award
Tue. 8 Kent Cherrington (Plymouth State University): 25-year Award
Thr. 10 Justin Doherty (University of Wisconsin): Arch Ward Award
Tue. 15 Rob Knox (Kutztown University): Rising Star Award (College Division)
Thr. 17 Jim Daves (University of Virginia): 25-Year Award
Tue. 22 Diane Nordstrom (University of Wisconsin): 25-Year Award
Thr. 24 Chevonne Mansfield (SWAC): Rising Star Award (University Division)
Tue. 29 Dr. Bill Smith (University of Arkansas): Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award
Thr. 31 Kevin Ruple (Baldwin-Wallace College): Lester Jordan Award
April
Tue. 5 Rich Herman (Clarion) - CoSIDA Hall of Fame & Warren Berg Award
Thr. 7 Paul Madison (Western Washington)- CoSIDA Hall of Fame
other profiles in the schedule to be announced; schedule subject to change
written by Jim Rodriguez, Baldwin-Wallace sports information assistant
BEREA, OHIO – Baldwin-Wallace College sports information director Kevin Ruple, a long-time supporter and member of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America® Committee, will be honored as the recipient of the CoSIDA 2011 Lester Jordan Award.
The award has been presented annually since 1994 to an individual for exemplary service to the
Capital One Academic All-America® awards program and the promotion of the ideals of being a student-athlete.
The award is named after Jordan, who founded the CoSIDA Academic All-America® program in the early 1950s while the sports information director at Southern Methodist University.
“Kevin's passion for the Capital One Academic All-America® program is obvious," said Mark Beckenbach, sports information director at Ohio Wesleyan University and co-chair of the Capital One Academic All-America® committee. "He is an outstanding national coordinator who often goes above and beyond the call of duty. I'd like to think that if Lester Jordan were here today, he would be
pleased to present his namesake award to Kevin."
Ruple, who has served as the SID at Baldwin-Wallace since 1983, will receive the award at the annual CoSIDA Convention in Marco Island, Florida. The convention takes place June 26-30 at the Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort.
"I am both humbled and honored to receive the Lester Jordan Award,” said Ruple. “It is an award that symbolizes our profession -- promoting the philosophy and exploits of the student-athlete. I have appreciated the opportunities that Dick Lipe, Bernie Cafarelli, Mark Beckenbach, and others have afforded me in that endeavor."
A native of Ashtabula, Ohio, Ruple began his career in as an intern at The College of Wooster, his alma mater, before arriving at B-W the following year. He has been a member of CoSIDA for the past 29 years and has been heavily involved in the organization.
He has served on the Academic All-America® committee since 1997, beginning his tenure as a district coordinator for soccer, baseball, and at-large selections. He currently serves as the national coordinator for the football and at-large categories, a position he has held since 2005. Ruple has also served on the CoSIDA Board of Directors for four years as a college division representative and held positions on the CoSIDA job services and publications committees. He has also served four terms as president of the Ohio Athletic Conference Public Relations Task Force.
“I have greatly appreciated the opportunities to contribute to both CoSIDA and the OAC in leadership positions,” Ruple said. “It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to work with so many influential and talented people in our profession and to be able to hopefully make a difference in the student-athlete and student assistant experience. If what I’ve been able to accomplish helps one student-athlete and has created opportunities for my student assistants and others, it has been well-worth every hour spent.”
For Ruple, the Lester Jordan Award marks the third time in the past decade that he has been recognized by his colleagues with a major CoSIDA award. In 2004, at the annual CoSIDA workshop in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Ruple earned the prestigious Warren Berg Award, which annually recognizes the CoSIDA College Division member who has made outstanding contributions to the field and has brought dignity and prestige to the profession. Then, at the 2008 CoSIDA Workshop in Tampa, Florida, Ruple was inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame.
"The Lester Jordan Award, much like winning the Warren Berg Award and being selected to the CoSIDA Hall of Fame, has been made possible by an outstanding staff at Baldwin-Wallace College that has afforded me the staff and resources to do a good job,” commented Ruple.
Ruple joins Dave Wrath of Augustana (Ill.) College as the only small-college SIDs to receive all three awards. And while Ruple appreciates the recognition, he realizes none of his accolades would be possible without the help of his student assistants.
“If I could cut the Jordan Award into little pieces, I would send one to each of the many student assistants and others who have helped me coordinate first the district ballots and now the national ballots,” noted Ruple. “Back in the day when we had to typeset entire ballots, the student assistants were even more of a key to getting the job done. This award is as much as reflection on their efforts as it is mine."
And it is the relationships that Ruple has developed over the years with his past and present student assistants, many of whom are now working in sports information at the college and professional levels, that truly make him proud.
Ruple resides in Berea, Ohio, and has a 12-year-old son, Danny.