Face to Face
     Where sports can truly make a difference

April 2026    | Print |

Dear Friends,

In 2010, I did an interview with Ronald Nored.

At the time, he was the starting point guard for the Butler Bulldogs. The Bulldogs were having a winning season but few could have guessed that the Bulldogs would go on to the NCAA championship game losing to UCONN. Even more surprising was the fact that they did it again in 2011 becoming the first team to go to consecutive final fours as a #3 or lower seed. Unfortunately they were again the runner-up to UCONN.

Ronald Nored was a key part of both of those teams, and since that time, Nored has built an extensive resume as a coach on a number of different levels including being an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers under head coach Rick Carlisle. Recently, Nored was named as the new head coach at Butler.

Back in 2010, I did the interview for Face to Face in historic Hinkle Fieldhouse after a Butler win over the University of Detroit. We talked not only about basketball but also about his faith in Christ. Ronald grew up in Alabama. His father was an AME pastor who died from pancreatic cancer when Ronald was in the eighth grade. His aunt was also a pastor.

His grandparents lived in Indianapolis, a few blockd away from Hinkle Fieldhouse. He would visit them often and go into Hinkle to shoot around until a coach told him he couldn’t do that anymore. As Nored tells it, two years later, that same coach, Brad Stevens, recruited him to play for the Bulldogs.

Growing up the son of a preacher, church became rather mundane for Ronald until a friend invited him to get more involved in the church youth group. That’s when Jesus became more real for him. By the time he had come to Butler, Christ was first in his life. He even started a Bible study for team members. As he told me that day at Hinkle, “Christ is #1 in my life. I pray that every single time people see me, they see Jesus Christ in my life.”

Now Nored now has the opportunity to be a Christian role model at a different level as the head man of one of the premier programs in college basketball. In more than one interview recentlly, Nored has been described as a family man and a follower of Jesus. He is married and has four children. He is on the biggest stage of his life.

Role models are a big part of the Face to Face ministry. We are fortunate in Columbus to have many coaches and players at the high school level who follow Christ. We recently completed our athletic chapels at Columbus North. During football season, the voluntary chapel was after the team meal on Thursday nights. There were always 35-40 present.

Basketball chapel was with the girls and guys combined. The chapels were also voluntary, immediately after practice on Wednesdays with almost 100 per cent attendance. Throughout the year, the 15-20 minute presentations were Biblical and the speakers ranged from ex-players to pastors and community leaders. I simply acted as coordinator.

Doing the radio play by play for North and East allows me to have valuable relationships with players, coaches and fans from both schools. That is an opportunity that I do not take lightly. Overall, this has been one of the best ministry years in our history with nearly 100 players and coaches involved in chapels. Thank you for being a part with your prayers and gifts. We will continue to share with you how God is working locally and elsewhere through sports.

In His Name,

Tom Rust