Members
Inductee
VRUGGINK, JIM
VRUGGINK, JIM
Born on July 18, 1948
Zeeland, Michigan
Inducted On
June 22, 2025
Location Inducted
West Lafayette, Indiana
Region Number
4
Purdue University
Merit
Hudsonville High School (Michigan)
Central Michigan University
B.A. Journalism
1970
In 2012, he became the 52nd person honored by his alma mater, Central Michigan University, with induction into its Journalism Hall of Fame. Jim majored in Journalism and was sports editor of CMU Life and a student assistant SID (1967-71), while also working part-time for the Mt. Pleasant Daily Times News.
Jim joined Sigma Chi (Zeta Rho Chapter at CMU) and won the undergraduate International Ross Award for Publications as the chapter editor. Then, while working at the University of Michigan, he served as house corporation president for Theta Theta Chapter of Sigma Chi (4 years). He became a Life-Loyal Member of Sigma Chi. The international fraternity honored him with its Seven Lights Award in 2023.
Vruggink received the NIT-CoSIDA Presidential Citation in 1997, the Scoop Hudgens Lifetime SID Award in 2002, Grand Consul's Citations from Sigma Chi Fraternity in 1978 and 2019, and the CoSIDA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020 along with being inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame in 2004 when he became just the second Boilermaker chosen and just the eighth Big Ten person so honored.
Jim coordinated Heisman Trophy campaigns for quarterback Jim Everett (6th in 1985), fullback Mike Alstott (11th in 1995) and quarterback Drew Brees (4th in 1999 and 3rd in 2000). Vruggink's international-event experience included serving as the press chief for baseball at the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis and as press information manager for baseball at the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta.
Jim is married to Marion (Sides) and have two daughters, Jaime Vruggink-Mendez and Kim Vruggink who live in Chicago and Los Angeles, respectively.
After 52 years in sports publicity work in Michigan, Illinois and Indiana, Jim retired on August 31, 2019, from his most recent position - Manager of Special Projects in Intercollegiate Athletics and Public Affairs at Purdue University, where he spent the last 37 years of his career.
Jim started at Purdue as Sports Information Director (1982-86) and Athletic Public Relations Directory (1986-2001) before becoming Director of Special Projects. Prior to his time in West Lafayette, Vruggink was SID at Northwestern University (1978-82), assistant SID at the University of Michigan (1974-78) and sports editor at the Ypsilanti Press (1972-74).
For more than 30 years, he was very involved with the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), serving on several committees and leading the national organization as its president in 1996-97 and spending 1993 through 2000 on its board of directors.
Jim was a member, elder and greeter coordinator at Covenant Church in West Lafayette (since 1983) and a member of the John Purdue Club (since 1986) and the Purdue President's Council (since 2006). He served on the executive board of the Gale Sayers Center in Chicago (5 years) and as advisor for four student organizations - U-M's Theta Theta Chapter (4 years) Purdue's Delta Delta Chapter of Sigma Chi (13 years), Purdue's Gimlet Leadership Honorary (13 years) and Purdue Gold Standard (7 years). He was the executive director of the National Football Foundation's Joe Tiller Chapter of Northwest Indiana (2004-2024), fundraising and awards coordinator (since 2025) and a member of Kiwanis (since 2019). He became Vice-President of the Arbor Chase Homeowners Association in West Lafayette in 2020.
Throughout his career, Jim enjoyed his role as a member and teacher and was proud of the fact that several of his former student assistants continued in the fields of sports information, athletics administration, journalism, publications, marketing and licensing.