Bio

Steve Ruthsatz was hired as the sports information director (SID) at Defiance College in October 2019. He is in charge of leading the communications and marketing efforts of the Defiance athletic department.

Ruthsatz is a longtime, award-winning communications professional with most of his experience coming in higher education and intercollegiate athletics. A strong copywriter, editor and communicator, he has made an impact at several colleges/universities over the past two-plus decades.

Before coming to DC, Ruthsatz worked at Kennesaw State University (KSU), the third largest university in Georgia with an enrollment of more than 36,000. In January 2015, he started as the senior communications specialist in the Division of University Advancement, serving as the primary copywriter, editor, researcher and photographer for areas such as alumni relations, annual giving, donor relations, development, the KSU Foundation and athletics. When the Unit of Advancement Communications disbanded, Ruthsatz spent his final three months at Kennesaw State as a public relations specialist in the Department of Strategic Communications and Marketing.

Staying active in his love for athletics, Ruthsatz covered high school sports in the metropolitan Atlanta area for nearly 20 years. After writing and reporting for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he was a sports correspondent with the Marietta (Georgia) Daily Journal since 2004. Ruthsatz was also an important part of the statistics crews for football and basketball at NCAA Division I KSU. He worked the first 28 home games in the history of the Owls’ football program as the main offensive spotter/caller and occasionally helped out other area schools like Georgia State University, Emory University and Life University with their statistical and game-day needs.  

Ruthsatz joined the Southern Polytechnic State University (SPSU) athletic department as its first full-time SID in August 2012, prior to the institution’s consolidation with Kennesaw State. He was in charge of publicizing and promoting the department, its sports teams, student-athletes, coaches and staff. Ruthsatz handled sports information, public and media relations, marketing, statistics, record keeping, home event management and photography, along with developing and managing the new athletics website and social media accounts that were launched in December 2012. His SID position ended on July 1, 2014 when Southern Polytechnic’s athletic programs were officially discontinued.

In May 2014, Ruthsatz was named interim director of public relations at SPSU. He held that position in the Office of University Communications for Southern Poly’s final eight months of existence.

Ruthsatz arrived at SPSU after being employed at Reinhardt University (RU) for more than five years. He began as Reinhardt’s media relations coordinator before moving to the athletic department as athletic operations manager. Ruthsatz served as RU’s assistant athletic director his last three years there, focusing on sports information, marketing, event operations and management, website and social media management, the booster club, sponsorships and compliance.

Ruthsatz’s career in sports spans almost 30 years. He spent nearly four years (2001-05) as the SID at NCAA Division I Georgia State after serving as an assistant director of media relations with the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association. Ruthsatz was the first full-time SID at KSU for five-plus years (1995-2000) and before that, he held the same position at Tusculum University from 1993-95. He completed sports information internships in Ohio at Xavier University, the University of Findlay and The Ohio State University, and was also a student assistant within the athletic department at Bowling Green State University, his alma mater, in 1989-90. 

Ruthsatz has written for four daily newspapers – two in Georgia and two in his home state of Ohio. He was also active working various sporting events in metro Atlanta, including media relations at Atlanta Falcons home games and NCAA basketball tournaments, including a Final Four for both the men and women. Ruthsatz was the interview room manager in press operations for baseball at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.

Outside of sports, Ruthsatz worked for two public relations firms in the Atlanta area between 2005 and 2007.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in sport management from Bowling Green, Ruthsatz received a master’s in education at Tusculum. He has also been an adjunct instructor at both Reinhardt and Kennesaw State.

Originally from Sandusky, Ohio, Ruthsatz now lives in Defiance with his wife Kerry and dog Cooper. He also has a stepson, Brett Whitfield.

Primary contact for: Baseball, Men's Basketball, Cheer/Dance, Esports, Football, Men's and Women's Golf.