WATCH: Veteran Official Ted Ruta Earns Induction into Class of 2025 Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame

Throughout his career, Ruta has been an inspiration to athletes on and off the field

ABOVE VIDEO: Respected Four-Decade Officiating Veteran Ted Ruta Earns Induction into Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame selection committee announced that the 2025 induction ceremony will occur on Saturday, May 24, at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne. This will be the first in-person induction since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. To make a reservation for the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-323-4460. CLICK HERE to see the 2025 Class of the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.

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BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA (Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame) – Ted Ruta, a universally respected four-decade officiating veteran, will be inducted into the Class of 2020 of the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.

Ruta started his career in the 1960s in Titusville, Florida, as a member of the Florida High School Activities Association, which was created to officiate high school sports.

He officiated high school sports in Brevard County, including conference and state playoff games, from 1966 to 1982.

Additionally, Ruta officiated the Shirley Temple Softball League and the Hurricane Football League in the ’70s.

Throughout his career, Ruta has been an inspiration to athletes on and off the field.

One of his fondest memories is the Michigan vs. Miami game in Ann Arbor in the 1980s, when three athletes from Titusville were on the field with him, including 2013 Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame inductee Gerald White and Dave Chester, who played for Michigan, and Kenny Calhoun, who played for Miami.

In 2011, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame announced that Ruta was the honoree for the organization’s Outstanding Football Official Award.

“Ted has long been a loyal custodian of the game of football,” said NFF president and CEO Steve Hatchell. “His wealth of experience makes him one of the great officials we have in our game today.”

SPACE COAST DAILY TV: Ted Ruta, a universally respected four-decade officiating veteran, will be inducted into the Class of 2020 of the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame. (Florida Citrus Sports video)

SPACE COAST DAILY IS YOUR SOPHISTICATED SOURCE FOR SPORTS

First bestowed in 1984, the award honors a collegiate official who has shown superior abilities in officiating and has demonstrated sportsmanship, integrity, and character in intercollegiate athletics and amateur football.

Ruta joined a list of distinguished previous honorees, becoming the award’s 30th recipient.

He has worked a total of 401 collegiate games during his legendary career and has had the honor of officiating in 12 bowl games, including the 1999 Cotton Bowl, the 1987 Orange Bowl, the 1984 Sun Bowl, and the 2005 Champs Sports Bowl.

Ruta worked the landmark 1986 game that pitted No.1 Oklahoma against No. 2 Miami (Fla.), with the Hurricanes beating the Sooners 28-16.

He was a replay communicator for the first-ever Conference USA Championship game in 2005, and his many other career highlights include working the 2000 BCA Kickoff Classic and the classic rivalry between Army and Navy in 1996.

Ruta recently retired as a replay official for the Sun Belt Conference, a role he has fulfilled since 2005 and follows stints in Conference USA from 1996 to 2005 and the Atlantic Coast Conference from 1994 to 1995.

He began his career in 1967 as an official with the Florida High School Activity Association, where he remained until 1982.

During his tenure with the FHSAA, he simultaneously worked games for the Southern Professional Football League from 1967 to 1969 and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1971 to 1978.

He also claims more than a decade of experience officiating basketball, track and field and softball. Ruta has served on the Southern Independent Collegiate Officials Association Board of Directors.

He has held the titles of president and treasurer with the National Football Officials Alliance; president, secretary and commissioner with the Mid Coast Officials Association; and as president and treasurer of the Conference USA Football Officials Association.

In June 2018, Florida Citrus Sports selected Ruta as the 2018 recipient of the Howard Palmer Award, the organization’s highest service honor. Ruta became the 29th recipient of the award, following in the footsteps of notable past winners.

The Howard Palmer Award recognizes a “lifetime” of service to Florida Citrus Sports. It is a tribute to an individual who consistently makes significant contributions to the organization and its efforts, without seeking personal recognition.

Ruta has been a member of Florida Citrus Sports since 1994. During bowl week, he coordinates the experience for officials calling the games, a role that won him a 2014-15 Volunteer of the Year award.

He is also a member of the Team Selection Committee and helped found the Gridiron Classic, a Florida vs. the Nation collegiate all-star game that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Buoniconti Fund (the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis) and Rotary Clubs from 1999 through 2005.

After leaving the field in 2004, Ruta has continued to host game officials and their families for the Champs Sports Bowl and the Capital One Bowl.

“Ted embodies the Howard Palmer Award in every single way,” Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan said.

“You think about selfless service to this community and this organization — that’s Ted. When you look at the Rotary Club and the college all-star game, never once did you hear Ted stand up and say, ‘Look at me. I’m really responsible for this. This was my idea.’ He’s just over there working away, figuring out what he can do to help make that more and more successful, and he’s been that way throughout his entire career here at Florida Citrus Sports.”

SPACE COAST DAILY TV: Ted Ruta, a universally respected four-decade officiating veteran, has been nominated for consideration into the Class of 2020 of the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame. (Florida Citrus Sports video)

Beyond his officiating duties, Ruta owns Horizon Resorts, Inc., in Titusville, Fla. A member of Rotary International since 1978, he served as president of the Titusville Rotary Club (2001-2002) and is a three-time Paul Harris Fellow, an honor bestowed upon the club’s leaders.

Ruta served on the board of directors of the Parish Medical Center, a public not-for-profit hospital, in Titusville for 13 years, including eight years as the chairman. Ruta holds two bachelor’s degrees from Florida State, and he and his wife Charlotte currently live in Titusville.

They have four children, nine grandchildren, and one great-grandchild; his love and dedication to his family parallel the passion and dedication that he has had for sports throughout his life.

Ruta has given selflessly and made a difference on and off the field, and devoted his life to contributing to improving high school and college sports in the Space Coast community as well as throughout the United States.

THE 2025 SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME Banquet and Induction Ceremony will occur at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne on Saturday, May 24. FOR INFORMATION about the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame, or to make a reservation, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-615-8111.

CLICK HERE TO SEE MEMBERS OF THE SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME

The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction dinner and ceremony is presented by Tom and Suzie Wasdin

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA—The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame selection committee announced that the 2025 induction ceremony will occur on Saturday, May 24, at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne. This will be the first in-person induction since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction dinner and ceremony, presented by Tom and Suzie Wasdin, will be held on the evening of May 24. The Meet-and-Greet will begin at 6 p.m., and the dinner and program will start at 7 p.m.

Tom and Suzie Wasdin are longtime Brevard County entrepreneurs, community supporters, and philanthropists. Tom, an NCAA Final Four basketball coach and Brevard Sports Ambassador, was inducted into the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

The meet-and-greet will include an opportunity to talk with the area’s sports royalty. Dinner and the induction proceeding, which will include compelling video tributes to each inductee, will follow.

The Brevard County High School Breakfast of Champions recognition awards will be held Saturday, May 24, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., also at Eastern Florida State College.

During the Breakfast of Champions, more than 40 awards will be presented to the best of the 2024-2025 male and female high school student-athletes in each sport. For sponsorship information, call 321-323-4460 or e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com.

Both the Breakfast of Champions and the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame events will be streamed live on Space Coast Daily TV.

Health First, Erdman Automotive, Eastern Florida State College, All Points, Clear Choice Health Care, Brevard Public Schools, Space Coast Office of Tourism, EDC of the Space Coast, 4Ever Young Merritt Island, and Savings Safari sponsor the 2025 Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction event and the Brevard County High School Breakfast of Champions recognition awards.

To make a reservation for the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-323-4460.

INDUCTEES SELECTED IN FOUR CATEGORIES

Nominees are chosen in four categories: professional sports, college sports, high school sports, and amateur sports. Special honorary recognition is also bestowed upon individuals and groups that have made significant contributions to sports on the Space Coast.

SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2025

■ PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Jamel Dean, Football; Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Wrestling; Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Football; Randy Pobst, Auto racing; Juwaan Taylor, Football

■ COLLEGE CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Paulette King, Basketball, Dylan Lewis, Soccer; Steve Freeman, Soccer; Bryan Cook, Baseball

■ PREP CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Lexy Denaburg, Volleyball; Andi Sellers, Soccer; Kaira Simmons, Track & Field; Jayvan Boggs, Football

■ AMATEUR/RECREATION CATEGORY INDUCTEE: Alli Penovich, Free Diving; Peter Blount, Track & Field; Caylor Williams, Wrestling

■ COACHING CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Doug Butler, Cross Country and Track; Gerald Hodgin, Football; Jim Oler, Basketball; Don Smith, Basketball

• SPORTS OFFICIAL INDUCTEES: Ted Ruta

• SPORTS JOURNALISM INDUCTEES: Steve Vaughn

• SPORTS DEVELOPMENT INDUCTEE: Loren McClanahan

■ LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT INDUCTEES: Larry Garrison, Clint Hurdle

■ SPORTS AMBASSADOR AWARD INDUCTEE: Rusty Buchanan

■ CHALLENGER AWARD INDUCTEE: Joshua Dillon

■ TEAM OF THE YEAR: Cocoa Tigers Football

■ LEGACY CHAMPIONS: Merritt Island Baseball, 1999-2000

■ SPECIAL TRIBUTE: Tim Wakefield

Space Coast Daily created the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2011 and has inducted over 200 of Brevard County’s most outstanding athletes, coaches, and sports personalities. Eastern Florida State’s Titan Fieldhouse on the Melbourne Campus hosts the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame. Portraits of the Hall of Famers are displayed on the wall in the building’s main hallway, which runs parallel to the gym and outside the athletic department offices.

To make a reservation for the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-323-4460.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE MEMBERS OF THE SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME

CLICK HERE FOR BREVARD COUNTY NEWS

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