Zhané Ruffin ’16 is making a big difference for others on and off the field like so many current and former Monarchs are known to do. Ruffin is in her fourth season as the head women’s lacrosse coach at The University of the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C., where she served as an assistant coach since 2018. From Day 1, she’s had a positive influence on the team’s recruiting, results, and the student-athletes, but she’s also gone outside of her university to help others succeed.
Zhané Ruffin ’16 is making a big difference for others on and off the field like so many current and former Monarchs are known to do.
Ruffin is in her fourth season as the head women’s lacrosse coach at The University of the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C., where she served as an assistant coach since 2018. From Day 1, she’s had a positive influence on the team’s recruiting, results, and the student-athletes, but she’s also gone outside of her university to help others succeed.
“Any opportunity I have to introduce lacrosse to others, especially youth, I’m going to take,” Ruffin said.
In addition to her coaching duties at UDC – which is one of only four Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) with an intercollegiate women’s lacrosse team – Ruffin is active in the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) and engaged in her local community through an organization called WINNERS Lacrosse (since 2019).
As the director of communications and operations for WINNERS Lacrosse, Ruffin oversees initiatives, meets with stakeholders, does after-school programs, and focuses on the direction and impact of the organization. In addition, she’s taken on the responsibilities of coaching a local middle school team.
It begs the question, “Does she sleep?”
“Actually, I’m about to start a training program for girls that’s diverse and inclusive, right here in Prince George’s County (Md.) where I live,” she said. “I want to get them excited about playing but also train them and their parents about the recruiting process as so many players and parents have no idea that even if you’re a great player, you need to know how recruiting works to get noticed.”
Ruffin was noticed and recruited by MU when she was playing for Laney High School in Wilmington, N.C. (well known for another great athlete, Michael Jordan). She played other sports growing up, but after an injury playing basketball – and parents who pushed her hard to continue in athletics – she learned (at times via YouTube videos) a new sport, lacrosse.
Ruffin was one of only two minority lacrosse players on her Laney team, and she says that’s one of the many reasons she immediately knew Methodist University was going to be a home away from home for her.
“I’ll never forget my campus visit to MU. It was in May, and it was so beautiful and bright, the flowers were blooming, the sun was hitting that grass field; it was amazing,” she said. “Then everybody was just so welcoming, and MU was, by far, the most diverse team I had ever seen. I wanted to be a part of a team where I could totally be myself and feel comfortable playing the game I love.”
At MU, Ruffin scored 40 career goals on just 73 shots on goal. She was team captain in 2016 and awarded USA South All-Academic and All-Sportsmanship team honors. She also served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
“MU is always going to be a special place for me because even though I didn’t know then that I wanted to be a coach, MU allowed me to combine my passions for business and sports,” said Ruffin, who majored in Sport Management and went on to get a master’s in Sports Industry Management from Georgetown University. “The collaboration with teammates and classmates at MU, really all of it, allowed me to enhance my skill sets on and off the field. It helped prepare me for my future.”